When Manchester United sent Owen Hargreaves to the USA to see world-renowned knee surgeon, Dr. Richard Steadman, it was in the hope that he could once again perform his admirable duties and sort out the persistent tendinitis that has affected both of Hargreaves’s knees.

Steadman done what he has done in the past to so many other sports players with knee injuries, and worked his magic on Hargreaves. However, fans of United and England will know that the player is still some way from recovering fully. Steadman takes great credit for getting to the root of the problem, but no doctor can help when it comes to being mentally effected by the circumstances. Having to find out that he cant be part of Manchester United’s 25-man Champions League squad was probably as painful as the thought of going under the knife.

These are severe ramifications for Hargreaves, United and looking further ahead, to England as well. The World Cup is only four months away and not being able to take part in United’s Champions League campaign means that he will only be able to play in the final few games of the season. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson reckons that Hargreaves could be back for the run-in. When he was giving his thoughts at his weekly press conference, he said: “He could come back and make an impact on the league for us. Hopefully he does.”

With all due respect to Hargreaves, United haven’t missed him as badly as they could have. The form of fellow central midfielders Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes has been good at various times throughout the season. It is potentially the national team that could suffer most. More so if they progress to the latter stages of the World Cup and because his influences on England games in the past made him the player that attracted Manchester United to sign him. Very few players match Hargreaves’s versatility and exceptional work rate. You only have to look and see that he was named England’s player of the World Cup in Germany four years ago.

England’s current midfield does have a very good look to it but Hargreaves provides that extra quality that even Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard do not have. Having played in Europe, with Bayern Munich, he brings that continental style of play where he is tactically astute at his defensive work. He tackles superbly, plays the pass as quickly and efficiently as he can and covers areas of the pitch that have been left exposed by his colleagues.

He could be classified as an injury prone player, but to be fair to him the injuries that he has had have always been major ones. When Sir Alex Ferguson mentioned that he is suffering from a lack of confidence then it tells you that Hargreaves is now trying to overcome the mental barrier, after getting through the physical one with such difficulties.