Beckham,Owen in fine fettle

England v Austria Old Trafford, tomorrow Kick-off: 4.0Michael Owen and David Beckham gave England a significant lift ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against Austria as they both came through yesterday's full training session.

Owen was ruled out of Newcastle's game at Portsmouth last Saturday after he sustained a dead leg in training, but was put through a full work-out by physio Gary Lewin yesterday.

Beckham's arrival in Manchester was, meanwhile, delayed as he stayed in Madrid to attend hospital tests on his son Romeo.

Beckham and Owen were both fully involved in yesterday's session at Manchester United's Carrington training ground for the first time, with no worrying after-effects reported by either player.

Adrian Bevington, the Football Association's director of communications, reported: "All of the England players trained today and there were no problems."

Their presence at training means Sven-Goran Eriksson has no remaining injury worries ahead of tomorrow's game.

Wayne Rooney is suspended for the game, with Peter Crouch expected to partner Owen up front, while Luke Young and Jamie Carragher are hoping to deputise for Neville and Cole.

With Eriksson committed to reverting to a 4-4-2 formation, his main selection decision has been over his centre backs, with Rio Ferdinand and John Terry hoping to keep Sol Campbell out of the side.

Campbell was said to have made his mark in training yesterday with a commanding display, with Eriksson having then used all three of his leading central defenders in varying partnerships during the session.

However, reports have claimed Terry and Ferdinand are still the leading candidates to face Austria, with Eriksson expected to show faith in the Manchester United defender despite his recent dip in form.

Steven Gerrard nevertheless accepted none of England's "so-called big names" can take their places for granted after their embarrassing defeat in Northern Ireland - including himself.

However, as he absolved Eriksson of blame for England's upset in Belfast, the Liverpool midfielder vowed to lead the national team to the World Cup finals.

Gerrard admitted his own recent international form has been "very average" but his upturn in form for Liverpool has made him an automatic selection alongside Frank Lampard in central midfield against Austria.

"Maybe the team has been picking itself of late. But after the recent performances, the so-called big names could be more on their toes now and not taking their positions for granted," he conceded.

"I think you'll see that in the performances to come and it will be healthy."

Gerrard is ready to sit deeper to make his central partnership with Lampard work against Austria, admitting he must start to reproduce his club form for his country.

"I love playing for my country and I'm very proud to do it. The only concern I've got is to try and raise my form and produce a bit more at this level," he confessed.

"I am confident in my own ability and I have done well for Liverpool. But when you come to England, it's a completely different kind of pressure and the games are different.

"I've had some highs and lows with England. Hopefully, I can perform at the level I want to perform at in the next two games. I still think that I've got things to prove at this level and hopefully, if we get to the World Cup then I can show that."