Ryan Giggs: Michael Owen is as good as ever and will revive England career

When Michael Owen hit a hat-trick in England's 5-1 win over Germany in 2001, it seemed inevitable he would break Sir Bobby Charlton's goal-scoring record.

Owen was 21, scoring freely for Liverpool and England, and the only question was when - not if - he would overhaul Charlton's tally of 49.

Eight years on and Owen's march to international immortality has been halted by injuries, poor career moves and the onset of age, all combining to leave him stuck on 40 goals.

But as Owen returns to Munich, scene of arguably his finest England moment, with new club Manchester United for this week's Audi Cup, he has been tipped for an international return.

There are few people better qualified than Ryan Giggs to pass judgment on the longevity of players, the 35-yearold having played more than 800 times for United over 18 years. Giggs believes Owen's arrival can not only resurrect his England career, but see him beat Charlton's record.

"I'm sure if he's playing and scoring for United, then the rest will come," said Giggs. "Sir Bobby's England record has proved difficult for anyone to overhaul.

"It's stood for a long time now. But looking at Michael's ratio of goals and games for England, you'd have to say if he plays another 15 internationals he'll probably overtake it."

Owen made an impressive start to his United career on the club's Far East tour, scoring four goals in as many games to prove he has not lost his predator's touch.

Although Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed to use Owen sparingly next season, possibly playing him only once every 10 days, the United boss believes he will score at least 15 goals.

And Giggs (right) claimed Owen remained a class act, despite his wilderness years at Real Madrid and Newcastle, and having not played for England since March 2008.

"Michael is just proving what we all know," said Giggs. "That he's a great goal-scorer. He scores headers, tap-ins and all his goals out in the Far East came from inside the box.

"That's where he does his work, that's where he comes alive. I don't think there was any scepticism among the players about his arrival.

"The manager has already said Michael provides something we haven't got. Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov can do everything outside the box as well as score.

"And Federico Macheda is probably the most like Michael, in the sense he's an out-and-out scorer - but he's still young.

"Michael's a predator in the box and that's something we've not really had since Ruud van Nistelrooy left.

"The thing about Michael over the years is that if he misses a chance it doesn't bother him. He knows he's going to get another one. Ruud had that same mentality. Michael said himself that it was a surprise when United came in for him after the last couple of seasons at Newcastle.

"But coming to United has given him a new lease of life, especially as we make a lot of chances. He'll certainly be confident of putting them away."

United will be joined in Munich by Nemanja Vidic, who missed the Far East tour with a slight injury, and new signing Antonio Valencia, absent because of visa problems.

Giggs added: "We've lost Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez but we have young players coming through, so the squad is really strong.

"Now we face a step up in opposition over the next four warm-up games. We play Boca Juniors on Wednesday, then Bayern Munich or AC Milan the following day.

"Then we take on Valencia in a friendly at Old Trafford, before Chelsea in the Community Shield, which will be real tests for us.

"But we've got our fitness from these games and we've got the confidence of scoring a lot of goals."