Phil Neville had been tipped to replace injured brother Gary for the game against Wales at the Millennium Stadium, but Charlton's Luke Young looks set to be given the task of marking Ryan Giggs instead.Sven-Goran Eriksson looks set to employ a 4-5-1 formation with Wayne Rooney playing up front on his own.
Should Eriksson turn to Young, it will be seen by many as a big gamble.
The 26-year-old has played just 18 minutes of football at senior international level following his late call-up to England's touring party to the USA in the summer.
England are set to employ a new-look back four with Jamie Carragher likely to come in for the injured John Terry.
In midfield, David Beckham is expected to be in a deep-lying role behind Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, who resumed training on Thursday.
Jermain Defoe had been expected to take Owen's place in the starting line-up.
But it is understood that the new plan was discussed at a meeting between Eriksson and senior players on Tuesday before using it in training on Wednesday without Gerrard.
Davis Beckham missed training on Tuesday but was involved a day later as he continued his recovery from a foot injury while Gerrard's calf injury initially kept him out of action, but he was later able to train with the full squad.

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