Danny 2 wrote:
but yet payed 5m for a player that played only 25 or so mins
Exactly, they can't afford their 2 highest earners to be sat on the sidelines collecting fat cheques, the dressing room would develop too much of a rift.
Besides which, in all fairness Bullard doesn't have the same level of concern as Owen IMO. At least once he's fit he's fit for a while, Owen's lucky to last more than a month, half of which time will have been spent trying to recapture form. He's always needed 2-3 games before he starts to look any good throughout his career. He's also lost the pace which was his biggest asset because of his injuries, while Bullard is not as likely to have been affected as much. He'll still have plenty of enthusiasm and a good passing game when he returns.