Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves will miss the rest of the season after surgery on his right knee, the Premier League champions confirmed on Tuesday.
Hargreaves travelled to Colorado for a meeting with renowned surgeon Dr Richard Steadman after being plagued by a tendinitis problem for almost two years and immediately had the operation.
The 27-year-old England star has made only three appearances this season due to problems with both knees and is due to have a further operation on his left knee in two weeks.
“Owen Hargreaves has had surgery on his right knee and it went well,” a statement on United's website confirmed.
“He will be having surgery on his left knee in a couple of weeks' time. He will be out for the rest of the season.”
Hargreaves has been plagued by the knee injuries since his 18 million pounds move from Bayern Munich in 2007.
He struggled to string together a lengthy sequence of appearances last season, although he was fit in time to play in May's Champions League Final triumph over Chelsea.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed on Friday that Hargreaves had recently seen specialists in London and Sweden without being able to get the injury resolved, sparking fears his career might be in jeopardy.
Those doubts will not go away until Hargreaves has returned to action on a full-time basis.
However, in Steadman, the Calgary-born star knows he is in safe hands, even if most of his football-related work has been treating cruciate knee ligament injuries.
Hargreaves should have some company too as former United star Ruud van Nistelrooy has flown to see Steadman, the man who performed his own cruciate operation, for treatment on a knee injury that has recently surfaced.
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