MICHAEL OWEN’S hopes of resurrecting his career lie in yoga, pilates . . . and Ryan Giggs. Sam Allardyce is convinced that Owen, though set for yet another spell on the sidelines, is not a terminal crock. And the Newcastle boss believes Giggs – and the alternative therapies which revived his career — can inspire England’s No 1 striker to overcome his injury demons once and for all. Owen is awaiting surgery on his groin just 11 games into his comeback for club and country from a 10-month lay-off with knee ligament damage. In all, the former Liverpool and Real Madrid star has made just 16 Premier League starts for Newcastle in more than two years on Tyneside. But while those statistics cast a cloud over Owen’s long-term future, Allardyce insists Giggs’ story provides a silver lining. “At 27 years old, Michael should come back better,” said Big Sam. “But a lot of that will lie in the work he does with the help of the people and specialists we have working for us at the club. “Specifically, it is about the sort of conditioning programme he will have to take. A good example of that is Ryan Giggs, who, in his mid-20s, had a huge long period of persistent hamstring tears. “Him and Alex (Ferguson) did loads of research into the problem and then managed it through extra sessions of yoga, pilates or stretching. “Ryan took that up permanently and very, very rarely now, even in his mid-30s, does he suffer from the problem he had before.” Meanwhile, Allardyce has rejected criticism of the decision to send Owen for a consultation and probable surgery at the hands of German specialist Ulrike Muschaweck rather than a UK surgeon. “It’s laughable,” Allardyce said. “We are taking Michael to the best in the world in that area. Unfortunately, it is not in this country.” Although there are doubts over whether any operation will be to repair a hernia or simply strengthen the area, Owen is likely to be out for the best part of a month at least. | 
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