Michael Owen’s injury - Another blow for Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson’s title aspirations received another setback when the veteran striker, Michael Owen suffered another injury which will certainly rule him out for a few more weeks. Owen has already been out for quite some time due to his groin injury that
he had sustained during Manchester United’s disappointing 0-0 draw against Sunderland. However, after recovering from groin strain, he picked up a hamstring injury during a recent training session in Manchester.
As a result of his latest injury, the former Liverpool star is certain to miss most of Manchester United’s matches this year. Talking to reporters, the England international said, “It's not going great. I had a bit of a tight groin a while ago and I've trained
for a week preparing for last night's game but then I had a setback with a different muscle injury. Unfortunately, that ruled me out for last night and will rule me out for a few weeks as well.”
Owen has been hampered by injuries since his arrival at Old Trafford. He suffered injury during last season’s Carling Cup final which occluded his chances for World Cup selection. His latest injury will at least cost him a few weeks. His injury in the Carling
Cup final at Wembley last season was also a hamstring one which clearly shows that hamstring problem is plaguing his career. Hamstring was also responsible for ending Owen’s short spell at Newcastle.
Owen’s exclusion from the squad provides another problem for Ferguson who is already missing Wayne Rooney due to his much-publicised ankle problem. Rooney isn't expected to get fit until the Manchester derby on November 10. In such a scenario, Ferguson will
be depending on the in-form Dimitar Berbatov and super-kid Javier Hernandez who has been saving United repeatedly in their last few matches. But, Ferguson will be left with only one option on the bench in the form of Macheda as far as strikers are concerned.
Nevertheless, Owen insisted that the atmosphere at Old Trafford is pleasant after the conclusion of Rooney-Ferguson saga. He said, “Everyone seems to be happy now. The club have got a world-class player signed for five years and obviously Wayne's happy and
the manager's happy. Wayne is obviously ambitious and the club's ambitious. He wouldn't have signed if he had any doubts. I don't think there was a change of mind.”
The drop scene of Rooney’s confrontation with the club came when the former Everton player signed a new five year deal with the Old Trafford outfit. United’s boss now claims that Rooney apologised from him and the rest of the club for his actions. Commenting
on this, Owen stated, “A lot has been made out of it but half of it is just to fill papers because of the size of the club and the stature of the player. Cutting out all the rubbish, the main thing is that he's signed. It's better having Wayne Rooney in your
squad than not, so we're all happy in that way.”
On the other hand, Wolverhampton Wanderers' Chief Executive, Jez Moxey has criticized Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger and asked him to “keep his mouth shut" about tackling in the game. The Gunners' manager has been a critic of rough tackling for many years
and has criticised many managers that employ such technique in the field. Mick McCarthy's Wolves is infamous for using tough tackling to stall opposition’s attack. However, Moxey feels that Wenger should also rein in his players after Jack Wilshere was dismissed
against Birmingham for an unnecessary and late challenge. Wilshere has often been criticized for his mistimed tackles this season. Talking to reporters, Moxey said, “It is an absolute nonsense. Well, I hope he hears this: keep your mouth shut. Play the game,
play aggressive, let everybody play. Wilshere and your other players are going to make similar challenges. I had a big, wry smile listening to Arsene Wenger trying to defend Jack Wilshere for the challenge.”
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