Michael Owen suggested he is ready for England action after marking his return from surgery with a goal in Newcastle United's 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday.

Owen made an instant impact when he came on for the last 16 minutes at St James Park, just nine days after a double operation to cure hernia and groin problems.

The England forward's cameo appearance was enough to convince him he will be fit to start in his country's crucial UEFA EURO 2008 qualifiers against Estonia on Saturday and Russia the following Wednesday. "I'm fine. I'm playing without pain and will only get better," Owen said.

"It's only a minor thing and I have still got all the stitches in. I've put in a lot of hard work and I was disappointed not to actually start."

Owen's 90th minute strike will have brought a smile to Steve McClaren's face, but the England coach saw his attacking options dwindle after it was confirmed that Everton frontman Andrew Johnson will miss both qualifiers to have an ankle operation.

McClaren is already without Emile Heskey and is waiting for the results of scans on Dean Ashton, who looks likely to miss out as well after suffering an knee injury in West Ham United's defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.