Manchester United's Michael Owen admits teenage injury shaped his whole career April 12, 1999: Owen tore a hamstring for the first time playing for Liverpool at Leeds. Aged 19, his blistering pace lost its throttle. "Getting that massive injury at Leeds has probably changed and shaped my whole career," said Owen. Since I was 19, I've been compromised. If I did that now, it would be surgically repaired like it's brand new. I wouldn't even know I had an injury. Back then you just let it go. I basically run on two hamstrings on my right leg and three on the other. I'm losing a third of the power. If I hadn't done that, 90 per cent of the other injuries wouldn't have happened. I would have been the all-time leading scorer for England. In the meantime I've won the European Player of the Year and a load of trophies while compromised. I could look back on my career like everyone with "what if this or what if that?." If I'd still been in one piece from the 1998 World Cup and gone through my career, what type of player would I have been? Some people think I was blighted with injuries, but I've played hundreds of games. Part of me thinks I've been the luckiest person in the world, too. I've played for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle, Man United, got 90-odd caps for England, 40-odd goals. I don't need to work again, got four great kids. I'm not that unlucky. In his youth, Owen resisted efforts to rest him. He recognises this is partially to blame for his later setbacks. "God, b----- hell, yeah," he says. When Gérard Houllier was saying I couldn't play every game, I'd say I'll rest when I'm 30. He was probably right, wasn't he? You want to play in every game. I was always the best player at every age since I was seven. I was in every youth tournament, playing for England Under-18s when I was 15, for the county under-11s when I was seven, always playing above my age. Steven Gerrard benefited when we were breaking through because, although he was phenomenal at 14, he couldn't stay fit. That was the biggest blessing in disguise for him for a longer career at the top without massive injuries. I was ready-made to play a higher level when I was young but I paid the price. Owen, previously the dour teenage superstar, is now the affable senior pro. Once, any question to him had to be cleared by his advisers and each answer approved. Now, he takes on the trolls on Twitter and weeps publicly when his horses, such as Brown Panther, win at Ascot. Those who knew him best always felt the shield damaged as much as it protected. Maybe I was bit a sheltered. It's very uncommon for someone so young, and maybe as good as I was, to be in the spotlight," he admits. If you're a goalscorer, you have to have a certain attitude. I'm very serious. My missus thinks I'm a bit weird. I'm cold, I don't have many emotions. It's very rare I cry. With Brown Panther I had a tear in my eye but I don't think I had cried in about 20 years. If you look at anyone at the top of their profession, there has to be something a little bit different. You have to be driven, cold, hard and mentally tough as iron. When I was at the top eight to ten years ago, I had more quirks. My wife thinks I've mellowed. I was tough to live with, very on edge. My wife would go into a different room, I was so fired up on a match day. I was volatile. I'd take it out on the ones I love. My mum used to get it in the neck and so did my wife. I never did that with my dad, maybe because I was trying to impress him most. The intensity has mellowed, but the ambition has not. Racing is a passion rather than distraction and he will play on given the right offer. "If no one wanted me, I wouldn't drop down the leagues," he said. I want to stay at the top level. I want to play on for a couple of years, but not at the expense of dropping down. I'll explore all the options. I've done my first coaching badges just in case I fancy management. Media might interest me. Gary Neville is a breath of fresh air and has almost encouraged me to do it. I get excited when it's half-time now because he is so intelligent and brings something new. Owen is fit enough to sprint again. His career deserves to end with a brisk gallop rather than a lame finish. Michael Owen was speaking at the launch of a three-year partnership between Manor House Stables and Trinity Elite, a lifestyle-driven tax, accounting and wealth management specialist for high-net-worth individuals, sports stars and successful entrepreneurs based in Hale, Cheshire.