Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves will return to Old Trafford from long term rehabilitation in the United States on September 23, according to the club. Hargreaves, who hasn’t played for United in over a year, had operations on both knees to cure a long term tendinitis problem that has put his career at risk. Although no date has been set for the player’s return to the team, the news is some light at the end of the tunnel for a player who has appeared just 25 times for the club since his £18 million move from Bayern Munich over two years ago.
Hargreaves’ return is “a great addition to us,” manager Sir Alex Ferguson told ManUtd.com. “We’re in dialogue all the time with Owen and the physio who’s conducting his rehabilitation in America.”
“He’ll come with Owen for a week for the change-over so we can jointly understand the treatment and rehabilitation he’s been doing. That’s straightforward. The difficulty is getting him back into football work. I say difficult because we’ve not seen him all this time. We’re relying on information we get from the States. We’re certain that his fitness work will be good, we just have to gauge the right time to bring him into football training. You don’t have a player out for a year and then just throw him straight into the fire.
“The important thing is to get him back playing to his level, which is a very good level.”