Henchoz said: "It will be great to see Michael Owen again, but I never thought he'd leave Liverpool.
"They made a big mistake selling him and haven't come close to replacing him yet.
"I know there's no way he wanted to leave Anfield – he wanted to stay.
"But in the end he had no choice because he was pushed out by the manager.
"Liverpool didn't want him anymore and that still surprises me a lot."
Owen joined Newcastle for £17m last month and Henchoz added: "He's a fantastic striker and he showed against Poland that he is as sharp as ever, scoring a fine goal and proving a good England captain."
Amazingly, Wigan could claim second place behind runaway Premiership leaders Chelsea with victory over Newcastle, albeit for a couple of hours.
Wigan boss Paul Jewell said: "To be in seventh place in the Premier League after the same number of games is a fantastic effort, but we've barely done a lap of the circuit yet.
"Of course we are pleased and it would be lovely to see us in second place, but our only objective this season is to stay in this league.
"Six out of our next nine games are live on television and that's great publicity as it proves, I suppose, that people have enjoyed watching us play.
"Maybe there was a perception that we were just a flat cap and whippet club.
"But I think we've changed that perception because people realise we are as professional as any club in the top flight.
"The Chelsea game at home on the opening day did us a lot of favours because they realised that we could play a bit.
"Although we lost the game, we were not outclassed or badly outplayed and since then we have built a solid foundation stone.
"But we've got to continue to be strong and blank everything else out and make sure that we stay completely focused on our job."
Jewell said all his internationals had reported back from the hectic round of World Cup matches injury-free.
"Everybody has come back in one piece and that's a great boost going into a big game like this.
"Lee McCulloch is still feeling his knee injury, but he should be okay for tomorrow."
Although Owen's arrival on Tyneside has kick-started Newcastle's season, they remain closer to the relegation zone than a Champions League place, and the recent goalless draw at Portsmouth without Owen showed just how fragile Graeme Souness' side are.
Newcastle will be without Kieron Dyer, Titus Bramble, Nobby Solano and Celestine Babayaro tomorrow and Souness said this week the injury crisis is killing his side's season.
But Jewell had little sympathy for his opposite number, saying: "My heart bleeds for Graeme Souness.
"He still has a vast array of internationals to pick from and Shearer and Owen up front is not a bad pairing, is it?
"Newcastle is a massive club and they should start tomorrow's game as favourites.
"They'll be looking to claim a place in Europe – never mind simply wanting to stay in this league.
"That shows what we are up against this season but so far we have proved that we can meet a big challenge head on."