Owen alert: make or break for Houllier and Eriksson

The Premiership: Injury cloud over Turkey trip on a brighter day for Robson and Reid

Michael Owen's presence in England's team for their decisive European Championship qualifying match against Turkey on Saturday is in doubt after he injured his leg in an awkward fall during Liverpool's 2-1 home defeat by Arsenal yesterday.

The extent of his injury, to a muscle next to his shinbone, was not immediately apparent but at least an X-ray showed there was no fracture. Owen had feared the worst. "I heard something crack, I thought it was broken." A scan today should shed more light on the problem.

England's coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who missed the Anfield match because he has a virus, will be on the phone to learn the outcome of that scan, no doubt fearful of the impact that Owen's absence against Turkey in Istanbul could have on his future. Houllier, who said his apparent decription of yesterday's match as "make or break" was quoted out of context, may also worry about his prospects if Liverpool have to make do for a while without the prolific striker. Yesterday, though, Owen missed chances when Liverpool were on top, allowing Arsenal to claim three points with a cracking goal from Robert Pires.

The Frenchman's fine finish condemned Liverpool to their second successive defeat and kept Arsenal clear at the top after he had set up an equaliser with a free-kick that Edu headed home via Liverpool's captain, Sami Hyypia.

Arsenal's manager, Arsène Wenger, who was without Patrick Vieira, Freddie Ljungberg and Dennis Bergkamp, was delighted by his side's refusal to buckle when on the back foot. He said: "We had to show all the qualities we have in our squad. In the first half, resilience and hanging on, and in the second half it was about closing people down." And, of course, a moment of magic that he described as "just Pires".

Houllier was in danger of sounding like one of those threatened managers who blames problems on anything except themselves. "We have to take our chances. Arsenal hardly had a kick in the first half apart from the free-kick, which gave them their goal. I'm disappointed because by the end of the first half we could have sealed it. I'm pleased with the performance but very disappointed with the result," he said. Manchester United beat 10-man Birmingham City 3-0 to make matters worse.

Peter Reid, whose managerial role at Leeds United came under very public scrutiny during the week, not only had a performance but also three points after two goals from Seth Johnson brought a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers. And there was relief, too, at St James' Park where Alan Shearer eased the pressure on himself and his manager, Bobby Robson, by finally scoring his 250th career goal to give Newcastle United a 1-0 win over Southampton. Robson, who had to dismiss midweek rumours of his departure with his team struggling at the foot of table, said: "It was a spirited performance and we got a good performance from every player in the team."

But victories for Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds meant Newcastle moved up only one place to 18th. "We won't shift and leap up the table in a fortnight, it will take some time, and to do that, we need to win and win," Robson said. He was also delighted with the backing from the fans after a difficult week, saying: "It means a lot to the players."

Tottenham Hotspur wielded the managerial axe early, sacking Glenn Hoddle only six games into the season in part because they had a ready-made caretaker on hand in their director of football and former manager, David Pleat. After a lucky draw at Manchester City last week, Pleat enjoyed success against Everton with Frédéric Kanouté inspiring a 3-0 home win with a volley from 30-odd yards. Pleat, who began his temporary tenure with a Carling Cup win at Coventry, showed he still has a grasp of manager speak: "We've had a banana skin, a backs-to-the-wall job and now a champagne moment."