Owen, 26, has been on the sidelines since New Year's Eve, when he fractured a metatarsal in a defeat against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

If all goes well, Owen could make his return for Newcastle as early as the forthcoming FA Cup quarter final against Chelsea next month and then against Hungary, for England, in May.

Newcastle caretaker manager Glen Roeder has praised Owen's progress and expressed his hopes to have his in-form goalscorer back for Chelsea. That would then give him a decent run of games before this summer's World Cup finals in Germany.

Roeder warned, though, to take nothing for granted concerning injuries and said: "It will be touch and go.

"I can’t give you an accurate assessment because he’s not doing enough in training yet, he’s only just started jogging.

"But he’s pleased with the amount of jogging he’s doing and he’s pain-free."

England head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will be delighted that the gifted striker will be soon be back on track. Owen scores an average of a goal every two games at international level.

His immediate future, however, is in the hands of Newcastle's medical team.

Roeder added: "I don’t have a lot to do with Michael at the moment because he’s in the hands of the physios and the fitness coach, but I see him most mornings and he seems quite bright in himself, quite happy with the way things are going.

"But again, it would be absolutely foolhardy for Michael even to think about coming back of couple of weeks too soon, especially if we could get him back for a month of the season."

Meanwhile, Owen spoke ahead of Monday's official kit launch, where The FA will unveil their new away kit.

"I’ve been involved in developing the new kit with Umbro, and I think it looks and feels awesome," said Owen, who will model the new kit at the Manchester launch.

"With the design being inspired by the kit from 1966, it’ll definitely be a big hit with the fans, and from a player’s point of view, the technology involved is bound to give us a helping hand in Germany in the summer."

To see more wonderful video action, including highlights of England's win over Argentina and exclusive training action, then click here.