HARGREAVES BLOW FOR UNITED

Owen Hargreaves has been forced to delay his return to training with the rest of his Manchester United team-mates.

The England midfielder made just three appearances early on last season before being forced to undergo surgery for tendinitis in both knees.

Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson had already admitted that he did not expect the former Bayern Munich star to return to action until September.

The Scot had hoped that Hargreaves would be able to link up with the Premier League champions to train with his team-mates as they prepare for the Audi Cup in Germany.

But that plan has now been scuppered and Ferguson was unable to put a time-scale on when the 28-year-old would be back in action.

The United manager admitted: "Hargreaves will not play in this tournament.

"We had hoped he would be joining us, but he is still in his programme of rehabilitation.

"He has had major operations on both knees and we are not rushing that.

"He is young enough to come back once he is fully fit, but we are not rushing him."