Manchester United’s Owen Hargreaves has not been a man blessed with luck over the past couple of years. His bid to dispel any remaining critics for both club and country had being going well, his performance against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup left England fans chanting his name – a stark contrast to the jeers that had greeted him earlier in that tournament, whilst Manchester United fans began to sing about him being “the love of their lives”.
This was of course until injury intervened in 2008 and since then he has made only one substitute appearance, leaving many wondering whether the clubs patience with him will ever see a return.
A relapse in the summer saw him return to Colorado for specialist work with the rehabilitation team overseen by Dr Richard Steadman who is renowned as the best knee surgeon there is. He described the tendinitis in Hargreaves knee as the worst he has ever seen in a 35-year career and the 29 year olds omission from the Champions League squad may be the clearest indicator that he does not feature predominantly in Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans.
His inclusion in the Premier League squad offered bleak hope of a return to action at some point this season but the unfortunate reality is that the size of Ferguson’s squad gave him no reason to leave him out. The United boss conceded he had “no idea” when he would return to full fitness.
He may be the forgotten man, but his woe should provoke a spate of sadness and sympathy as well as showing the unpredictable nature of the profession. England needs a midfielder of his style, a combative, ball winning midfielder who is tactically disciplined and one who craves the chance to pull on that shirt again. The unforgiving battle which he is still fighting has cast his career into doubt and it is my belief that if he does come back, Hargreaves will seize the chance in wake of his lengthy struggles.
Hargreaves said: “It is only human to think that way. The longest injury before this was when I broke my leg at Bayern Munich and I was out for a couple of months.
“Football is a physical game and injuries are part of it. But I could never imagine having one that has impacted on me so much. I thought – everyone thought – I would be fit for the start of the season. It didn’t materialise.
“It has been a pretty humbling experience and I am sure many people doubted me but anybody who knows me knows that what I set my mind to I get.”
He is certainly a fine role model given his commitment to charitable causes and his unassuming character means he is a credit to an era where players are often too absorbed by material wealth. If he has to retire, it will be with great sadness – gross misfortune would have denied the talent he possesses.
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