Owen is yet to play under Capello and was recently referred to as England's "history" by the Italian.
But Lampard says the 29-year-old, who has scored 40 goals in 89 England caps, should not give up hope of a recall.
"Michael Owen is one of the best strikers ever to play for England and I am sure if he is fit and playing well, he will be in the team," said Lampard.
"His goalscoring record is unbelievable, but he has been injured for a long time and Fabio does not feel he is ready to play," added the Chelsea man.
Lampard insisted there is nothing personal between Owen and Capello and that his exclusion is just down to fitness and form.
"Capello has shown he is a fair manager and has no personal agendas, he just wants to win games," said Lampard.
"The situation would be the same if I was injured or if Wayne Rooney is injured. If you are fit and playing well you will be in."
Capello opted to call up Darren Bent after Carlton Cole was ruled out of the game against Ukraine on Wednesday because of a thigh injury.
Emile Heskey will also miss the World Cup qualifier after picking up a hamstring injury in the early stages of the friendly win over Slovakia at the weekend.
But Capello has ruled out bringing in Owen, who has only just returned to action for his club Newcastle after an ankle ligament problem.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment