COLOGNE: England captain David Beckham has vowed to win the World Cup for a devastated Michael Owen who is unlikely to play any further part in the tournament after being injured in the match against Sweden.
The Newcastle player, appearing in his 80th game for England, went down clutching his knee after just one minute of England's 2-2 draw on Wednesday in Cologne and was carried away in agony. No other player was involved.
It is thought it could be a ligament injury, which could keep him out for up to six months. A scan at England's base camp in Baden-Baden is expected to determine how serious the problem is.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said Owen, who is still not fully recovered from a broken foot sustained on New Year's Eve, could be out for the rest of the tournament. "Maybe he's out of the tournament, I'm not sure. It doesn't look good," said the Swede, who has a major headache with just three strikers to call on -- a recovering Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch and untested teenager Theo Walcott.
Beckham, a former Real Madrid teammate of Owen's, said the squad was devastated by his injury and vowed to win the World Cup for him. "That's what we said at half time when we came in and we knew it was a bad injury," he said.
"We hope it's not as bad as it looks but we're not too sure. We are going to have to wait to see what the doctors say. "It's sad -- Michael's one of those players you need in big tournaments. It's unfortunate for him and for us." Goalkeeper Paul Robinson said the team was upset by what had happened, and indicated that there was no way Owen would play any further part in Germany. "Devastated, we think it is quite a serious one," he said.
"Michael won't be playing any more part in the World Cup. I'm disappointed for him and the team as well. It's a very unfortunate incident." Defender Rio Ferdinand, who himself came off with a twinge in his groin, said ligament damage was the most likely scenario.
"I saw him go down and I thought he might be up in the next minute, that he might of just twisted an ankle or something," said the Manchester United star.
"But to go in at half time and find out it might be ligaments or something serious like that is devastating for him and disappointing for the team." Eriksson threw Crouch on to replace Owen -- he had little choice with Walcott never having played a Premiership game let alone a World Cup.
The Swede was widely criticised for bringing only four strikers to the World Cup instead of five when two of them had fitness doubts.
His good news was that Rooney, who started his first game since breaking a bone in his foot on April 29, came through unscathed, and looked sharp and dangerous whenever he got the ball.
