Owen Hargreaves has undergone an operation on his right knee and is due to have surgery on his left knee in a fortnight. This means he will not play again this season, and in the worst-case scenario he will not be able to resume his career. Under the circumstances it’s encouraging that he is being treated by Dr Richard Steadman who is widely regarded as the world’s leading expert in this field.
With Paul Scholes out until X-mas this could constitute a major injury crisis. But luckily a number of other central midfielders have exceeded most people’s expectations this season. Darren Fletcher is playing the best football of his career. Ryan Giggs looks very comfortable as a playmaker. And Rodrigo Possebon is rising fast towards the first XI. These three give Ferguson several options apart from Carrick and Anderson who I regard as the first-choice partnership.
Even so Hargreaves’ aggression and big-game mentality will be missed. The bigger the game, the better he performs. He was one of the the best players on the pitch in last seasons CL-final in Moscow.
