Michael Owen has put rumours to bed that he would be entering the Love Island villa, after confirming he won't be taking part in this year's 'Meet The Parents' episode.
Fans of the show had hoped the former professional footballer would enter the Spanish villa to reunite with his daughter Gemma Owen, who is currently coupled up with Luca Bish.
Love Island regularly features a meet the parents episode in which family members are flown out to the villa to catch up with their loved one and meet their new partner. It usually takes place towards the end of the series.
Michael, 42, has said his wife Louise Owen will be jetting off to Mallorca if their 19-year-old daughter makes it to the final week of the series.
This will give Gemma's mum the chance to drill Luca, 23, who seems to be going from strength to strength with the international dressage rider.
Speaking to Sky Sports At The Races after watching his horse run, Michael said: "My wife will do that duty. I'll represent the horses and she'll represent the daughter."
He added: "I don't know what I'll get from Box To Box. But I know what I'm going to get from my daughter.
"I've fathered her for 19 years so I'm pretty sure what I'm going to get from her."
Fans had hoped the former Liverpool player would head into the Love Island villa after his employer BT Sport — for whom he is a pundit — gave him the all clear to jet off to the reality show due to a lack of football fixtures that weekend.
A source told the The Sun: "The end of July looks to be a golden opportunity for Michael to see Gemma.
"He's notoriously private and anything could change between now and finals week but, all things considered, the odds on him taking part are better than ever."
It has previously been reported that Michael was "barely watching" the show due to being "anxious" over how Gemma might behave.
A source told the Daily Mail : "Michael has barely watched the show as he has been quite busy over the past few weeks."
They added that Louise "keeps him up to date" though, with the source saying that he has told her not to mention any of the "bad stuff" from the show.
The source said he will be "relieved" when Gemma has returned home, though they stated that he is "massively proud" of her and knows that she is a "sensible" person.
Love Island airs tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITV Hub.
