Michael Owen is out of the World Cup and has flown back to England after rupturing his anterior cruciate knee ligament in the 2-2 draw with Sweden.
A scan on Wednesday confirmed the fears about Owen’s injury following his collapse in the opening minute of Tuesday’s match.
“Obviously it’s a massive blow. As soon as it happened I knew I was in trouble,” said the 26-year-old striker.
“I’m clearly sorry to be leaving the lads in Germany, but I’m convinced they can go on and achieve success. I’ll be following all the matches very closely and giving them my full support, hopefully all the way to Berlin.
“My main objective is now to get fit as quickly as possible for Newcastle United.”
In a statement on the club’s website, Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd said: “At this stage it’s too early to say how long he’ll be out for, although it is a serious injury.
“Our concern is now to provide the best possible care and get him on the mend as quickly as possible.”
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said: “I’m sorry for him. But we have many players who can take that second striker role.”
“Michael has had terrible luck with injuries since Christmas.
“I feel very sorry for him to miss out on the rest of the World Cup – it’s a blow to him and a big loss for the team.
“However I am sure Michael will work very hard to get back as quickly as possible for Newcastle and England.
“He is a true professional and a very mentally strong person.”
But Eriksson believes his team are still capable of lifting the World Cup even without Owen.
“We have Theo Walcott, who we haven’t seen yet, we have the players in the squad who can play second striker such as Joe Cole and Steven Gerrard and Aaron Lennon can do it too.
“I’m not that worried about it. We don’t want any more injuries on strikers but I’m not worried.”
