In Euro 2004, another metatarsal injury changed England’s fortunes. They were leading Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-final in Lisbon when, 24 minutes into the game, Wayne Rooney challenged for a ball and pulled up, having broken his fifth metatarsal. England’s performance dipped and Portugal came back to win on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Arsenal defender Ashley Cole is sidelined with the same injury and now Owen has broken the same bone as Rooney, Sven-Göran Eriksson will be hoping the curse of the metatarsal will not ruin another tournament for England, this summer’s World Cup in Germany.

The normal rehabilitation for a metatarsal injury is eight- 12 weeks. Should this be the case with Owen he would only miss one England match, a friendly on March 1, and be back to full fitness by the time the tournament starts in June. But Rooney took 14 weeks between his injury and playing his next game and the nightmare scenario for England would be if Owen suffered complications. This is what happened to Neville in 2002. He injured his foot on April 24 and did not return until September 21, an absence of five months.

Fans will need little reminding how injuries have often cursed England in big tournaments. Steven Gerrard missed the 2002 tournament with a groin injury. At the World Cup in 1990 Bryan Robson injured his Achilles in a group match against Holland and, four years earlier, injured his shoulder in a group game. He played in England’s second match wearing a protective harness but was replaced early. In the 1982 World Cup, Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking missed the first-round group stage, Keegan with a back injury and Brooking with a pelvic problem. They returned for the second-round group match against Spain but a 0-0 draw was fatal to England’s hopes.

As far back as the 1970 World Cup, England’s curse afflicted the goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who went down with food poisoning on the eve of their quarter-final against West Germany. Peter Bonetti was blamed for two goals as West Germany fought back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

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