London: David Beckham and Michael Owen appear to have little chance of facing 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 a British daily on Saturday.

Owen has had a frustrating time with injury since joining Newcastle from Real Madrid in 2005, making only 14 appearances for the club, just three last season.

Beckham, recovering from an ankle injury, had yet to make his competitive debut for LA Galaxy in the MLS although he was travelling to Toronto for their game on Sunday, head coach Frank Yallop told the club’s website.

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

Yallop was quoted in another British dailyas saying that playing for England was far from Beckham’s mind as he looked to kickstart his new US career. (Agencies)