Owen Hargreaves suffered another injury set back just six minutes in to his Manchester United comeback. The likeable midfielder was making his first start in over two years, but was forced off early on with a hamstring complaint.
Speaking after United’s 2-1 over Wolves, assistant manager Mike Phelan admitted the injury to Hargreaves was very disappointing. He said: “Obviously he is down in the dumps. He has put a lot of work in and today we took a gamble with him. We put him in to the frame and thought we could get a performance out of him. That was a risk and it didn’t work out for us.
“He has to overcome the slight problems. It is unfortunate for him and we feel for him but he’ll be okay. We’re not quite sure what the injury is at the moment but we’ll find that out.”
I think I speak for the whole footballing community when I say that I hope this is only a minor setback in the former Bayern Munich mans recovery. It is a real shame to see such a talented and energetic footballer have his career tainted by a persistent injury.
Hargreaves won the support of nearly all England fans with his dedication and commitment during the 2006 World Cup. Before then he was often lambasted by the Three Lions faithful but eventually his character and ability would win him plenty of admirers.
He now really needs to dig in to his tough character and overcome this setback and if there is anybody that could cope with another injury it is Hargreaves. Many would have given up on football after such a long spell out through injury, but testament to his commitment Hargreaves stuck at it, and now really deserves some reprieve from constant injuries.
A hamstring injury shouldn’t see a long term spell on the sidelines for Hargreaves and would I encourage people not to ridicule him for been ‘injury prone’. Niggling injuries are only to be expected after a long time on the sidelines, but will become rarer as he build up his general fitness.
I for one hope that we see him lining up for United again in the very near future, because if anyone deserves to play football at the top level, it is Hargreaves.
