EPL News: Return of the Hargreaves
Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that, Owen Hargreaves is scheduled to make his long awaited return to Old Trafford and start playing once again, within the next fourteen days.
Hargreaves was supposed to return to action a couple of months ago, however the player was forced to return to the United States of America, to get some more rehabilitation work done, in order to avoid any further long term tendonitis related problems, that has kept the star out of action for nearly two years now.
Nonetheless the twenty nine year old did manage a very brief cameo appearance earlier this year. He made an appearance in one half of a reserve game and even managed one minute against Sunderland. Both those appearances suggested that the player might just earn his call up to the England’s national side.
Disappointingly that was not the case as the player suggested that he was still not fully fit and was incapable of playing without further treatment.
According to United’s manager Ferguson, "Owen is due back within the next two weeks.”
"He seems to be making decent progress now. But if he comes back in two weeks when is he going to be fit to play for Manchester United? That is still to be found out."
"It would be silly to put him in the squad when he is not even back here."
"Quite simply I could not put him in ahead of someone else but I can make a change in January if he is back to his fitness."
Despite the managers claims it is still assumed by almost everyone, that if the player manages to pick up another knock or two, he might as well call it an end to his playing career. This is because if the 29 year olds age is considered at the moment, one , more injury could result in some very bad results as he just wont be fit in time to play any serious football in the future.
However Alex Ferguson showed some signs of optimism when he named the player in his twenty five man short list for the Premier League. However it wasn't long before the manager omitted his name completely from the team list that would participate in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
The manager later went on to justify his decision by stating that there were completely different requirements that he has come to expect from players on a domestic level and in Europe. This is why he decided to omit Hargreaves from the Champions League because even if he was fit to participate in the first team, he still wouldn't be mentally and physically ready to participate in Europe's elite footballing competition.
However the manager can make changes in January if he feels that the player is fit enough to play in the Champions League or if he wishes to drop him from the twenty five man squad that he listed for the Premier League.
Hargreaves can play as both a side back or as a defensive midfielder, considering United are currently running short on quality players to play in those positions; the team would be hoping that the player can make a speedy recovery, so that United can perform at their full potential with Hargreaves amongst the starting eleven.
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