Newcastle United boss Sam Allardyce has revealed Michael Owen will miss the season start with a thigh injury.

Newcastle fear the striker, who missed all but three of their games last season, could be out for up to a month after failing to recover from the injury which has ruined his pre-season.

Allardyce had hoped to see Owen return at Hull in midweek but he is refusing to risk him for the first game of the season at Bolton next Saturday.

Allardyce said: "It doesn't look as encouraging as we first thought. The tear in the muscle hasn't healed as quickly as we would like, so there's no point in making any rash decisions just to get him fit for the start of the season.

"It's about getting him 100 per cent for playing matches on a regular basis. That's why it has been more disappointing for him and for me that he's missed pre-season games more than training. He's done enough training to last him a lifetime."