Manchester United want to restructure Owen Hargreaves' contract.

The Sunday Mirror says Hargreaves will be offered only a pay-as-you-play contract if he wants to extend his stay at Manchester United.

The England midfielder has just 20 months left on his current deal, but United will not enter into negotiations about extending the arrangement until the end of the season.

And in the wake of Hargreaves's two-and-a-half injury-blighted years at Old Trafford, the United hierarchy are unlikely to offer him anything more substantial than a deal comprised of a low basic with bonuses linked to appearances.

Hargreaves is now doing ball work in training following his recovery from surgery to cure a long-term tendonitis problem in both knees.

A United insider said: "When players have a record of injuries the policy has been to offer them a low basic in comparison to the rest of the squad, but with high bonuses linked to appearances.

"That's what happened with Michael Owen and in the past with Wes Brown."

http://www.tribalfootball.com/man-utd-plan-pay-you-play-hargreaves-deal-415211

Sir Alex says Fans could be seeing Owen Hargreaves back in action very soon

Owen Hargreaves is edging ever closer to making his United return.

The 28-year-old hasn't played for the Reds since September 2008 and has since undergone surgery on both knees.

Most of Hargreaves' rehabilitation work was done in the United States, although the England international returned to Manchester late last month to rejoin his team-mates.

Sir Alex has been impressed with the midfielder's progress and says fans can expect to see him in a United shirt in the near future.

"Owen's doing a lot of good work now and we're pleased with that.

"As I said when he came back to Manchester, it's not something we need to rush. Because he's been out for a year, we monitor it a bit more closely.

"But he's giving us good signs and he should be back at the first-team level three weeks from now, easily."

source




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Owen had a photo op with the Canadian PM on Wednesday...it's not much, but it's something!!

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has delivered a positive report on Owen Hargreaves' rehab from knee surgery.

Ferguson said: "Owen is recovering well and continuing with his rehabilitation work.

"We are taking things step by step, not rushing anything and are making sure everything is done right so that he gets back to full fitness.

"He won't be ready this season, but Owen will be working with our fitness people during the summer and we hope he will be ready for pre-season training - and our trip to the Far East in mid-July.

"Owen's second operation has been completely successful and it was better than the first one which was much more difficult.

"The second one was completely clear and I am certain he will be ready for the start of next season.

"Sending him for these two operations was not a decision taken lightly but we had exhausted every other way of trying to deal with the situation.

"We have tried to manage it by sending him to a specialist for a series of injections. Their success rate is very good, but unfortunately it wasn't good enough for Owen because he was still feeling great pain in his knee caps.

"It's been a bad time for the lad and we have missed him but hopefully the problem will be cured for good."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that midfielder Owen Hargreaves should be fit for the start of next season.

The 28-year-old has not played since the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September and has made just three appearances in all competitions this season due to a problem with his knees.

The England international has been plagued by tendonitis shortly after arriving at Old Trafford from Bayern Munich for £17million in summer 2007.

The Canada-born midfielder went to seek the advice of renowned knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman in Colorado and underwent an operation in November.

Hargreaves then had to undergo a second operation last week in a bid to put an end to his injury nightmare once and for all.

It was rumoured that if the operations weren't successful then the Bayern youth team graduate may have to consider retiring.

Ferguson has now rubbished such speculation by declaring that the second operation was a success.

"Owen had a second operation last week and it was completely successful," the Scot said.

"It was better than the last one, which was much more difficult. This one is completely clear and I am certain he will be ready for the start of next season."

source
x-posted to manutd

Dear fans,

As 2008 comes to a close, I would like to reflect a bit on the past year. But first, let me thank all of you for your support, understanding and encouragement in the weeks following my knee surgery.



Your words of comfort have been truly appreciated during this tough time. For the new year I wish you and myself above all health, because health also means happiness as I have learned the hard way this year.

Actually, the year started very well for me. In my first season with Manchester United I was welcomed very warmly by club, team and fans. We had high expectations for the year 2008 and we achieved our goals in impressive fashion. We peaked at the right time in the crucial games in the Premier League and the Champions League. It’s an honour to be part of this wonderful team that last season set new standards on the domestic and international stage.

In my first season I won the league with Manchester United. After all those titles with FC Bayern this was something special, because as a little boy in Canada I always dreamed of winning the Premier League. And another dream came true this year. As in 2001, I played in another Champions League final. You probably remember this unbelievable night in Moscow when we beat FC Chelsea on penalties and became “Kings of Europe”.

However, it wasn’t really a successful year for the national team. We failed to qualify for the European Championships and England with their wonderful fans missed out on the Euro 2008 in the summer. A shame, but with Fabio Capello we now have a coach who personifies success. We have won four out of four in qualifying and it looks like we will make it to the 2010 World Cup.

For me personally, it was a roller-coaster of a year. I’m currently in rehab following my knee surgery. In January the other knee will be operated and then I hope to finally be able to play pain-free again. Like every year I spend the holidays in Calgary with my family where I will try to get some rest and recharge my batteries for the new year.

Christmas is a holiday of love and optimism. In this spirit I wish that we all get and give lots of it. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and all the very best for 2009.

Your

Owen

Gorgeous model Zabeena Harris has been helping the heartbroken England midfielder, 27, get over his split from fiancée Janelle Khouri last year when he moved from Munich to Man Utd.
A pal said: “It’s early days and he’s taking things slowly but they’ve become very close in recent weeks.”
By the looks of things, Zabeena, 25, will also be able to give him some handy tips on uplifting cups too!

The article is of september, but I think they still date. I liked Janelle, but I like Zabeena too. She's classy. And I think they look very similar.
Unfortunately, there're the same pics of her in bikini all over internet. But I found very beautiful fashion photos with her. And a little scan of Panasonic Viera commercial where she played. All is under the cut



( Read more... )




Jannele&Owen for reminding :)

I'm guessing everyone here will probably already know that Owen is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his knee


Full Article here

I guess the comm will be pretty much on haitus for this season, unless there are any new developments/pictures. There won't be any match posts etc (not that here have been for a while anyway *shif eyes*)