LONDON, Aug 4: Long-time England team-mates David Beckham and Michael Owen appear to have little chance of facing old rivals Germany in a friendly at Wembley this month because of injury.

Striker Owen was still recovering from a thigh injury and would probably miss Newcastle United’s opening game of the Premier League season next weekend, manager Sam Allardyce said.

“The tear in the muscle hasn’t healed as quickly as we would like,” Allardyce was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail on Saturday.

Beckham, recovering from an ankle injury, had yet to make his competitive debut for LA Galaxy in the MLS.

England meet Germany at the new Wembley Stadium on Aug 22 to warm-up for next month’s Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia.—Reuters