Now You See Him, Now You Don’t: God Plays “Sleight of Hand” with Owen Hargreaves
It would have been a very pleasant sight for United fans all over the world watching good old Owen Hargreaves start for United after two whole years when they played Wolves on the 6th of November this year – it must have been. It should have been. Unfortunately, “fate” wouldn’t have it that way.
So what would you call his remarkably brief appearance last weekend? And what must we attribute his remarkably long “long-term” injury to? Keeping especially in mind that Owen Hargreaves was one of the fittest players boasted by the Bayern Munich side he was a part of before July 1st, 2007 (barring one leg break, there wasn’t any particular injury that the Canadian suffered during his entire time in Germany). So what happened to him in the city we call Manchester?
They say its bad luck. They say it’s a curse. They say everything they say when they cannot reason things out. But the truth is: what happened to Owen Hargreaves in Manchester was bound to happen. It isn’t luck, it isn’t providence, it isn’t a “curse” for Christ’s sake – it is plain and simple physiology. Just watch him play the next time he shows up on the field, which would hopefully be before the decade ends, and you would know what I mean: the guy does not stop running.
That’s right. Owen Hargreaves loves to run. He loves to sprint. He loves to work hard. And he loves to, sadly, put that extra bit of burden on his knees. And what happens when you keep on working those knees and tendons over time for ten years straight? Patellar tendinitis. That’s right. There’s another guy who’d tell you about that particular injury in detail – someone by the name of Rafael Nadal. But since he’s not available at the moment, I would gladly (read: reluctantly) do the honors.
In simple words, patellar tendinitis is just tendinitis of the knees. “Patellar” means “of the patellae” and “patellae” means “the kneecaps”. And tendinitis means, well, tendinitis – inflammation. And it is not a very uncommon phenomenon in the world of sports since it is incurred by the over-usage – particularly over-extension – of the knees, which in turn is basically due to over-running or jumping – hence, the nickname “jumper’s knee”.
So if you ask me, what really happened was just that Manchester United bought their man at the wrong time, Period. Like Rafael Nadal, who after stunning people with his superior body movement on the court for five or six years was “suddenly” struck by injury for almost an entire season, Hargreaves’ body – particularly his knees – “suddenly” gave in to the over-exertion. Except that it wasn’t all that “sudden”. Ask a physiologist and he’d tell you that it was quite expected. At least in the case of a player like Hargreaves it was, because he’s the kind who works his socks off even in the dying minutes of the game.
Lastly - the good news. One thing is for sure that in Manchester United’s medical staff, Owen Hargreaves has one of the best teams to help him recover from an injury which was absolutely bound to strike him, sooner or later. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was well taken care of in United when his body had begun to wear out, by the docs as well as the gaffer. Therefore, if the injury had to happen, there was no better place for Hargreaves to get out of it as little scathed as possible.
So unless there really is some metaphysical, mystical – unfathomable – force at work who insists on ending the career of the poor guy: chins up, Owen Hargreaves would be back with a bang. Anybody who saw Rafael Nadal’s comeback after the dreaded injury would tell you that.
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