Alex Ferguson claims Owen Hargreaves is not ready to play
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has rejected talk that Owen Hargreaves is ready for action, claiming that the midfielder is not fit enough to play any part in the English Premier League clash with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (16 October).
The 29-year-old’s surgeon Dr Richard Steadman said earlier this week that the player would be ready to be involved in the match after suffering from a severe knee problem for the last two years. On Wednesday, Steadman had claimed that: "Owen should play
some part on Saturday."
However, Ferguson has rejected those claims, telling reporters that: "Owen is not ready. We are having difficulties with the doctor coming out with statements that are not accurate. It is not fair to the player for (Steadman) to say Owen is going to be playing
tomorrow. It is ridiculous. I pick the team and I have been doing it for quite a while. We have this small interference, which is causing some confusion. He is out with a calf injury."
Has not played since May
Hargreaves had surgery on both of his knees two years ago, but his attempts to recover have been plagued by various problems. He has not started a game for the club in over two years — a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in September 2008 was the last time he took to
the pitch at the start of a game —and his last appearance was a three-minutes cameo in May against Sunderland.
Though it had appeared that Hargreaves would be ready for the start of this season, he suffered further complications with his knees over the summer and underwent further treatment with Steadman.
Hargreaves joined the EPL giants in 2007 when he was signed from German club Bayern Munich for a fee of around £17m. To date, he has made just 38 appearances for the Red Devils.
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