Henry fears losing scoring touch

Thierry Henry fears his scoring instincts have been dulled by playing on the left wing instead of centre forward at Barcelona.

"Honestly, it can be a real problem for me," Henry told French sports daily L'Equipe in an interview yesterday.

"When France played in Spain in February, I was lost up front, I didn't know where to run. My reflexes in front of goal are not what they used to be.

"Hopefully, I will play up front again with France before the European Championship finals this summer," he said.

Henry became France's all-time top scorer in October and has netted 44 goals in 98 internationals.

He remains coach Raymond Domenech's first choice for the Euro 2008 finals in June despite competition from Lyon's Karim Benzema and a resurgent Nicolas Anelka.

The former Arsenal forward joined Barcelona last year but has failed to live up to expectations from fans and media.

"You can't compare with what I used to do with Arsenal. It is impossible," Henry told L'Equipe.

"Here, I am the guy who plays on the left, only the guy who plays on the left. Once again, you can't score as many goals whether you play in the box or, like I do, you start running 60 metres from goal.

"I have never run so much in my whole career."