Newcastle United striker Michael Owen is facing a month out after suffering a groin injury in training.

The England forward is rated as '50-50' for Monday night's match with Manchester City after he tweaked a groin in training on Wednesday. The former Liverpool forward will undergo a scan later today.

"He tweaked his groin in training so he is a big doubt," Joe Kinnear, the interim manager, said. "It's 50-50 whether he plays for the Man City match. He is having a scan today. Then we will find out more, we are just assessing the situation.

"I am hoping it is not as bad as it looked when he first did it. I am hoping it may have calmed down but we are worried that if the scan shows a tear then he could be out for a month.

"Hopefully it won't be but we are in the dark until later on today."