Michael Owen has declared himself fit for Newcastle United's clash with Aston Villa this weekend.

The 27-year-old missed most of pre-season and last Saturday's opening-day win at Bolton with a thigh injury sustained during shooting practice.

But after the reserve match against Newcastle Blue Star at Kingston Park, in which he had two chances cleared off the line, he told nufc.co.uk: "I feel fine, it was only a small injury, a niggle.

"It had me out for a couple of weeks but I've trained for the last four or five days and I was confident I'd be fine and it was good to get back out on the pitch.

"It's a little frustrating to have missed some of the pre-season games but I've been able to do all the running work."