Manchester United striker Michael Owen has been thown a life line to his international career by England manager Fabio Capello.

The Daily Mail reports that the Three Lions chief will watch Owen as United take on Valencia in a friendly at Old Trafford, and will consider a recall for the 29-year-old.

Owen's England career seemed to be over after being overlooked on numerous occasions by the England boss as he fought with injury and poor form during former club Newcastle United's relegation campaign.

The former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker has not made an appearance for England since a friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago over 14 months ago.

Owen is looking to revive his career after a shock move to Manchester United this summer and has started well with four goals in five pre-season matches.

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has shown his faith in the hitman by handing him the coveted No. 7 shirt at Old Trafford after it was vacated by World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The shirt has also been worn by United legends George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.

Owen has made 89 appearances for England, scoring 40 goals. He needs just 10 more to become the all-time leading scorer for his country, a record currently held by Sir Bobby Charlton who notched 49 goals in 106 appearances.

United have been dealt a blow ahead of the 2009/10 season after confirming that Edwin van der Sar has been sidelined for the start of the campaign.

The 38-year-old Dutch goalkeeper has this week undergone surgery on a broken finger and bone in his left hand, and will be out for up to eight weeks.

Van der Sar suffered the injury saving a penalty from Danijel Pranjic in United's 7-6 shoot-out defeat to Bayern Munich in the pre-season Audi Cup tournament in Germany.

The prognosis means that van der Sar won't be back to full fitness until the end of September. It is frustrating news for Sir Alex, especially as van der Sar was so important to United's defensive solidarity last season. However, Ben Foster signed a new contract in July and Sir Alex said at the time that "[he] is seen as one of the best young goalkeepers in England and we genuinely see him as a successor to Edwin."

This could be the opening Foster has waited so patiently for, although Tomasz Kuszczak will also see this as an opportunity to prove his worth. Sir Alex's selection will be an interesting one for Wednesday's friendly against Valencia and at Wembley this weekend against Chelsea in the Community Shield.

Long-term Liverpool target David Silva is reportedly being chased by Manchester United with Valencia likely to sell for £25m. Juventus were favourites for the diminutive winger earlier this summer but a deal fell through so Sir Alex Ferguson has stepped up his interest to prevent title rivals Liverpool making a move in the wake of the Xabi Alonso sale. Silva is one of a number of prized assets Valencia may have to sell after financial difficulties have left them over £400m in debt.

The Spanish winger’s versatility would also be of great benefit to both Premier League clubs as though he is mainly left-footed, he can also play on the right-flank as well as in the ‘hole’ to great effect. His promotion to the Valencia first team led to the surprising sale of fan’s favourite Pablo Aimar which illustrates the high regard he’s held in at the club as the Argentine international was a top world class star. Silva even donned the Argentine’s shirt number on his departure.

Silva is also regarded as a consistent performer perfectly illustrated by the fact that in the 4 seasons prior to 2008/09, the youngster has played in over 30 League matches in each campaign. This record includes 2 season-long loan spells at both Eibar and Celta Vigo prior to making his mark in the Valencia first team 3 seasons ago. He has now played in 89 La Liga games for the club as well as scoring 13 goals. However, last season injury meant the Spaniard made just 19 League appearances (17 starts) and scored four times.

Silva also has plenty of European experience having played in numerous Champions League matches for Valencia including scoring in the quarter-final 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in April 2007.

Silva is now a regular for the Spanish national team after making his debut in November 2006 in a friendly international 1-0 defeat to Romania. He’s since made 25 appearances for his country (3 goals) including starting 5 of their 6 Euro 2008 games. He was rested alongside the likes of Torres, Villa, Puyol and Xavi for their final group win over Greece emphasizing his importance to former Head Coach Luis Aragones. Despite Valencia’s need to sell he may not come cheap as he only signed a new 7-year contract in June 2007.

Liverpool were expected to stand the best chance of enticing the winger to England with their high contingent of Spanish players and of course their coach. However, Manchester United have money to spend and will be looking to negotiate with Valencia during their stay in Manchester to face them in a pre-season clash tonight.

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