Liverpool veteran Jamie Carragher believes that it will be a long time before England find another striker with Michael Owen's goalscoring ability.
The Reds defender praised his former teammate following the news of his retirement and hailed him as a Liverpool great.
"I think if you just look at what he did for Liverpool. He was a great player for Liverpool, there is no doubt about that," he told talkSPORT.
"And, if you're just judging him on his England career, [he scored] 40 goals in 89 appearances and it'll probably be a long time before England get a striker who has that type of record."
However, Carragher went on to say that England's failure to compete in World Cup and European Championships prevented Owen from achieving his potential at international level.
"I think it's difficult with England to call someone a great because we haven't been that successful in the last ten or 15 years," he added.
"The only players you should be calling great are the players from 1966 [who won the World Cup], but Owen has had a good England career and no-one can take that away from him."
Owen has made just seven appearances for his current club Stoke City due to injuries. He has scored one goal for the Potters.
Mark Langshaw
