Owen, 27, is following a daily stretching regime as he continues his come-back from reconstructive knee surgery. The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker is following a high-level functional rehabilitation programme put together by John Green, the former West Ham United physiotherapist who has also worked with Kieron Dyer and Dean Ashton, which is designed to increase his core strength and prevent further injury, says The Times. Owen was plagued by hamstring problems at the start of his career and had four operations on his left knee and right foot last year.

"Michael has worked really hard, but he's still got a lot of hard work to do in rehab," Allardyce said. "He will have to do rehab for the rest of his life, over and above the day-to-day training, and he can't ignore it otherwise he is going to put himself into an injury position again.

"He has to be dedicated on his own to do that rehab and look after himself, which I think he is doing. Hopefully we will all reap the benefits from that by him getting quicker and quicker, sharper and sharper."