Manchester United and England have been rocked by the news that both Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves will be out of action for some time due to injury.
Hargreaves’ Tendonitis
Since joining United from Bayern Munich in July of this year, it’s likely that Owen Hargreaves has become frustrated at the way his career at Old Trafford has gotten off to a stuttering start due to a number of injuries. Now he and the club have decided to tackle head on one of these that does not appear to want to go away.
At the beginning of the season the England international was troubled by a tendonitis problem in the knee area which meant that he didn’t play a competitive game for United until the middle of August. Then, after finally being ruled fit to play, he made only three appearances before sustaining a thigh injury which meant another spell on the sidelines.
With the thigh problem behind him, Hargreaves was finally back in contention in The Red Devils’ first team squad but the tendonitis returned. As a result he has now decided to have an injection, which could keep him out for a further four weeks, but which, it is hoped, will prevent the problem returning in the future.
Carrick Breaks Elbow
Only days after the decision was made to carry out the procedure on Owen Hargreaves’, his loss was seriously compounded for United by the news that Michael Carrick had fractured his elbow.
The extent of Carrick’s injury, which was sustained during Manchester United’s latest Champion’s League game on Tuesday, 2nd October, only became apparent after the match had finished.
United defeated Roma one nil with a goal in the seventieth minute from Wayne Rooney, but X-rays on Carrick’s arm following the final whistle revealed the fracture which will now keep him out of action for an estimated six weeks.
Central Midfield Shortage
Whilst the loss of both Carrick and Hargreaves presents problems for Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, it may help simplify a situation for England coach Steve McClaren.
Whilst United spent a lot of their summer transfer funds strengthening the midfield portion of their squad, the loss of both Carrick and Hargreaves means that they now find themselves seriously stretched in the centre of their side.
With other players also missing, it‘s likely that Paul Scholes will be the only fit, natural central midfielder the team has currently available. As a result, manager Alex Ferguson will be forced to consider his options, which include bringing in another player to fill the hole or switching to a 4-3-3 formation that his side have used frequently in the past.
Although the injuries to the Manchester United midfield duo leave their club side in a potentially tricky situation, they also make Steve McClaren’s selection decisions for up coming England games against Estonia and Russia slightly easier.
Since taking over the role, the current England manager has regularly been blessed with a large variety of options in centre midfield and was on the verge of having to make a difficult decision. The number of players missing from the last two games saw the initially makeshift pairing of Steven Gerrard and Gareth Barry prove a success and, with Chelsea’s Frank Lampard also currently recovering from an injury, McClaren may now be saved from having to choose whether to stick with this twosome or make a switch.
