Owen has started running for the first time since his knee injury

The 27-year-old started running on Monday for the first time since he was injured against Sweden during England's World Cup campaign in Germany in 2006.

He told Newcastle's website: "I am happy with how things are going.

"The next step is to continue running and to do some ball work before joining in with training."

He added: "I enjoyed the first 10 minutes and then it started to feel like hard work."

Owen has not put a timescale on his comeback but told BBC Sport earlier this month: "I haven't had any setbacks. Hopefully I can return this season but it could be next season".

Magpies boss Glenn Roeder said that was open to "different interpretations" but he would not force Owen's comeback.

Roeder warned that it was not in anyone's interest for a return date to be set, in case Owen could not meet it and people interpreted this as a cause for concern,

"With someone like Michael Owen, it is best for us not to say `We believe he will be back on this specific date'," he said.

"Because he is a world-renowned footballer, if he does not make that date, then all hell is let loose and he has had a setback."