Long road to recovery: Hargreaves can finally see
light at the end of the tunnel
Manchester
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
expects Owen Hargreaves to be making his first-team return in three
weeks - in time to face
Chelsea.
The midfielder returned to Carrington last month after spending
a year in the United States recovering from ground-breaking surgery
on both knees to combat a long-standing tendinitis
problem.
Hargreaves was initially accompanied by his personal
physiotherapist before care was transferred to the United medical
staff.
The 28-year-old is progressing well. And though Ferguson is
bound to be planning a low-key return on reserve team duty
somewhere, the Scot feels Hargreaves will be available again at the
start of next month.
'Owen is doing a lot of good work now,' he said. 'He is making
great progress, which we are very pleased about.
'It is not a thing you have to rush because he has been out a
year. We have to monitor it a bit more closely but he is giving us
good signs. 'He should be back in the first-team level
in three weeks from now, easily.'
In theory that would give Hargreaves a chance of being fit for
the eagerly-awaited encounter with Chelsea at
Stamford Bridge on November 8.
It would seem unlikely Ferguson would pitch the former Bayern
Munich star into such a high-profile occasion, so an outing
immediately after the international break that follows is far more
likely, particularly as United should have booked their place in
the Champions League knock-out stages by then.