Owen Hargreaves' second start of the season for Manchester City, against Arsenal on Tuesday evening, produced a performance that was no more than workmanlike. It certainly did not yield anything like the stunning strike earlier this season against Birmingham in the Carling Cup that crowned his return to top-level football after three injury-plagued seasons. However one could argue the quality of his performances mattered little.
Whilst the opportunity to play for Manchester City is one hardly any footballers would turn down, few footballers have been through the horrendous injuries and presumable self-doubt Hargreaves has experienced since he first broke a leg in 2006.
Like his English contemporaries Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate, Hargreaves deserves admiration for even stepping back on to the pitch. Released by Manchester United (who seemingly saw little chance of a return to his best form) and subsequently written off by the press and much of the public, few would have begrudged him an early retirement or resuming his career at a lower standard of football.
Having won two Champions Leagues, four Bundesligas and a Premier League title, played for two of the greatest clubs in world football and earning 42 England caps in the process, he would have been fondly remembered as a world-class midfielder denied a full career by an injury curse. With no shortage of cash and plenty of honours, an early retirement might have brought him to coaching badges, punditry and plenty of golf.
Yet Hargreaves has thrown the script out of the window. The resilience he has shown in proving his fitness, taking the original and very public path of posting YouTube training videos, and then throwing himself into the pressure cauldron of Manchester City (where he is sure to see more regular action in the second half of the season) shows both character and courage. No club will see its players put under the media spotlight as much in the coming years as Manchester City, as they attempt to rise to European greatness. Not the easiest route back from the best part of four seasons of the last five wrecked by injuries.
Having incurred three years of chronic knee pain myself, deciding to stop playing competitive football, even at my lowly level, has been a tough process. Mentally I lost the confidence to play as I dwelled on my injury. I no longer trust my body to come through the rigours of tackling and am reluctant to compromise my future health and mobility. And my injuries were certainly not on the scale of Hargreaves, King or Woodgate. These players have had plenty of time to reflect on the damage these injuries have had on their bodies, yet fight to resume their careers, albeit with the assistance of the best medical staff around.
Without his injury nightmares, one wonders how many more England caps Hargreaves could have won. He seems to be the piece of the England puzzle we have been missing for so long, industrious in defence and possessing quality dead ball skills and quality distribution (although the emergence of Scott Parker into Capello’s plans in the past 12 months may have partly provided a solution).
Were Owen Hargreaves to get back into England squad it would be a borderline miracle. He would surely settle for 10 appearances this season and to progress from there. I root for him and all other players suffering chronic or major injury who strive to return to the field of play. There is the sense that these are the footballers who no longer desire financial rewards, but to continue performing a job they not only love, but is also all they know.
My admiration is not just for Hargreaves’ footballing ability, but his desire to resume playing at the top level, despite the knowledge his body might break down again and the potential implications for his health later down the line.
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