MICHAEL OWENS England career looked to be finished last night.

Fabio Capello sensationally left the countrys current leading scorer out of his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra on Saturday and Croatia on September 10.

And the message was clear boss Capello believes he can get to the 2010 finals without the Newcastle striker, who has hit 40 goals in 89 games for his country.

It is a huge gamble by Capello and he knows he risks the wrath of the nation if it backfires.

But the Italian has shown he can be ruthless and that past reputations mean nothing.

It emerged yesterday that Owen, 28, has been offered a new three-year contract at Newcastle worth a staggering £140,000 a week.

But he failed to impress Capello who made a special point of checking him out during the Toons 3-0 defeat at Arsenal on Saturday.

Capello has not started Owen in any of his five friendlies, partly because the striker has been injured.

The only appearance Owen has made under Capello is as a sub in France where England lost 1-0 in March.

Boasting almost a goal every two games for the Three Lions, Owen is by far the top marksman of all the current players.

David Beckham (17 goals in 103 matches) and Wayne Rooney (14 in 44) are the next most prolific.

Yet Owens omission was not the only shock.

With midfield resources thin on the ground, there was a call-up for Fulhams Jimmy Bullard.

Midfielder Bullard, 30 next month, also qualifies for Germany but has never played international football.

Yet that does not come close to overshadowing the news about Owen.

However, the former Real Madrid star will be cheered by his bumper contract offer.

It was revealed last month that Toon bosses would move to keep their captain.

And they have now confirmed they want to rip up his current £100,000-a-week package, which has less than 12 months to run, and replace it with a new mega deal.

Owen has yet to agree to it and sources close to the player suggest he has not been impressed by the way the Toon board have handled the talks.

But the latest offer puts the ball firmly back in his court.

A Newcastle spokesman said: The club hopes this enhanced offer will keep him at St James Park.

Manchester City defender MICAH RICHARDS, 20, is out of England contention after suffering a shoulder injury against Sunderland yesterday.