Owen's injury opens door for forlorn Fowler

If there is a silver lining to the latest cloud on Michael Owen's horizon, it surrounds the brightening prospects of rival striker Robbie Fowler.

While Liverpool and England coach Sven Goran Eriksson lament the loss of their hamstrung number one goal-getter for the next month or so, Fowler now has the perfect opportunity to cast himself in the role of hero for club and country.

Fowler, who started the season with a training ground spat that almost caused him to leave Liverpool, struck a disconsolate figure when he was substituted after an hour of Saturday's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

His lacklustre display followed a week when newspaper rumours that he and Houllier had fallen out resurfaced.

The reports were dismissed out of hand by Houllier, who said: "Unless Robbie had a bust-up with my brother it is not the same Houllier."

The rumours will not go away, though, and Leeds United chairman Peter Ridsdale was forced to issue an official denial last week that his club had made an approach for Fowler, while Blackburn Rovers manager Graeme Souness said he would love to sign him.

It all adds to the impression that the 27-year-old remains unsettled and his uninspired display at Anfield on Saturday confirmed the feeling.

To make matters worse, one of his chief striking rivals, Finn Jari Litmanen, thumped a spectacular winner to decide the match against Spurs.

Then, with six minutes of the Tottenham game left, everything changed.

Owen, who had come on as a substitute after being rested at the start, fell to the ground in the act of shooting and ominously clutched his left hamstring, the one he had damaged in the spring of 1999.

TOXTETH TERROR

A scan on Sunday confirmed a tear and Owen, who has been dogged by similar problems over the last two years, will be out for at least three weeks.

With England facing Greece in their decisive World Cup qualifier on October 6 and Liverpool tackling Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Wednesday, Fowler suddenly has everything to play for.

He is likely to start the Dynamo Kiev match at Anfield and next weekend's trip to Newcastle United.

Those games will offer him the chance to show he can operate effectively alongside club mate Emile Heskey, who is almost certain to start for England against the Greeks the week after that.

Fowler showed Eriksson what he can do with a wonderful self-made goal after coming on as a substitute in England's 2-0 win over Albania on September 5.

His chief rival for a starting place in the England squad is Andy Cole, who has also shown signs of frustration this season after failing to establish himself in the Manchester United first team.

Other in-form strikers such as Celtic's Chris Sutton and Sunderland's Kevin Phillips are realistic contenders for a squad place, but not Eriksson's starting XI.

With 168 goals in 319 Liverpool games, Fowler is widely acclaimed as the most natural finisher of all England's top strikers.

Now is the perfect time for the Toxteth terror to show why.