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According to the "Newcastle" club on Sunday, Michael Owen will not be allowed to play for the England national team against the Brazil team if the country's Football Association does not cover the expenses incurred for his recovery.
"If the Football Association does not provide a suitable offer, we are prepared to go to court to obtain an injunction to prevent Michael from playing in Estonia," Newcastle president Freddy Shepherd said in an interview with "The Sunday Mirror."
The next qualifying match for the 2008 European Championship for the England national team will be in June against the Estonian national team, while five days earlier they will face a friendly match against the Brazil team at the new "Wembley" stadium.
The forward suffered a serious knee injury during last year's World Cup in Germany and is now ready to return to the field in the Premier League match against "Chelsea" next weekend.
"We will demand compensation for medical expenses and if we do not receive any offer from the Football Association, then we will have no choice but to involve lawyers in this matter," F. Shepherd explained.
"We should not have to pay for the player's recovery instead of the Football Association. The Football Association is abusing its dominant position. They have the audacity to ask him to return as soon as possible, so we will put them in an uncomfortable position," Newcastle's president expressed his anger.
England shares 2nd-4th place in Group E qualifying for the 2008 European Championship table with 11 points along with the national teams of Israel and Russia. The latter has played one less match and leads the group with 13 points, collected by the Croatian national team.
