Hargreaves will be back

John O’Shea expects Owen Hargreaves to return from his latest injury setback.

The 29-year-old midfielder suffered a hamstring strain within four minutes of his surprise return against Wolves, and cut a disconsolate figure as he trudged to Old Trafford's home dressing room for treatment.

Despite the latest episode in his luckless, injury-ravaged United career, O’Shea is certain that Hargreaves will return.

“We feel so sorry for him,” the Irishman told MUTV. “He was so looking forward to it and we were really excited for him as well after all the hard work he’s put in.

“We just have to wait and see exactly what the injury is, but he’ll be back again, no doubt about that. He’s worked very hard to get to this point and I’m sure there’ll be a few little niggles - he’s just got to get over them quickly.”

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that his decision to field Hargreaves was a gamble brought about by circumstances, given the spate of players laid low by illness during the course of the week.

“I took a gamble with Hargreaves but he'd been training really well and I thought by picking him we'd have a compact midfield with experience,” said the manager. “But it only lasted a couple of minutes, it was a disaster.”