Manchester United striker, Michael Owen, has been told that he will not be able to play again this season.

Owen picked up a hamstring injury during the Carling Cup win over Aston Villa last weekend. The news will also put an end to any ambitions the player had of making the England World Cup squad this summer.

Owen is a player who is well known for getting injured at the wrong times in a season. He never played his full quota of games and now he will not play again for United in the current campaign.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “It’s a bad blow – he’s out for the season. Unfortunately it’s more serious than we thought. He will be operated on, on Monday morning.”

“It’s a terrible blow for the lad and is disappointing news for us too. He has never missed a training session all season. I think the heavy pitch at Wembley on Sunday made some contribution to it but really it is just bad luck.”

Owen added: “Unfortunately the specialist says I will miss the end of the season. I have loved every minute of my first campaign with Manchester United and have already enjoyed some memorable moments. I am determined to come back at the start of next season in peak condition.”

Ironically the news has opened a door for a number of other English strikers to come in and have a shot at getting on the plane for South Africa. Owen stood a good chance of being picked but there is still a striker spot up for grabs.

This news will be a huge blow to United and United fans. With such a competitive Premier League run in expected, the club would have been hoping that the experience of every single player they had would have seen them through any trouble.

United are now desperately thin in terms of attacking options. If Wayne Rooney gets temporarily injured that it does not bear thinking about how United would score the goals, which would take them to a record 19th League crown.

However, Ferguson is old and wise enough to know how to deal with this situation. Hopefully he can nurse his attack through the rest of the season, letting them off the leash on vital occasions to score vital goals.

For England, Fabio Capello was probably looking at a few options any way so this news would have just removed one more name from the list of players he is tracking for potential World Cup places.

Owen seems destined to be the player who has the injury tag follow him around for the rest of his career. It does not seem to matter which club he ends up playing for, he always seems to pick up a few injuries along the way that stop him from having an extended run in the side.

Watch this space, a lot could happen to both United and England in the coming months.

Michael Owen says he is not expecting a warm reception when Manchester United make the short trip to Anfield in only a few days time. Owen of course made his name at Liverpool but will probably be verbally abused every time he touches the ball for joining United.

The rivalry between United and Liverpool is probably the most intense in English football. The two clubs really do hate each other and United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, has often commented on how hostile the reaction is whenever he takes his club to go and play in Liverpool.

There will be some fans that will applaud Michael Owen and remember all of the good things that he did during his time at the club. However, there are some fans who will be too ignorant to bear this in mind and all they will see is the Manchester United badge on the shirt and the number 7 on his back.

Owen said: “I’d prefer people to sit down and recognise you for what you did for them and for the team in years gone by. But I’m pretty realistic as well and now that I’m playing for their arch rivals, I’m not holding my breath, put it that way. People talk about loyalty and for a football supporter that’s easy to preach about.”

“I’ve got to earn a living, provide for my family. I supported Everton as a kid, I never supported Real Madrid, but I played for them. It’s a job opportunity, like anyone else’s work. The longer you’re at a team, if the fans welcome you and the players take to you then you build an affinity. So now I look for Real Madrid results and Newcastle results, but it doesn’t make me any less loyal to Manchester United.”

A lot of people questioned whether Ferguson had lost the plot when he signed Owen from a depleted Newcastle United, but the point is that he seems to have found a new lease of life.

Fergie knows better than anyone else in the Premier League, the right way that Owen needs to be used and has to be used if he wants to extend and finish his career in the red of United. He probably thought he had struck gold when he knew that the Champions were interested, especially when you consider that the only other clubs that were in for him were Stoke and Hull City.

Owen may not start the game next Sunday but if he comes off the bench and scores in the same way he did during the Manchester derby, then he could finish his career the next day and United fans would already be calling him a legend.

Manchester United continued their good start to the Champions League this year with a 2-1 victory over VFL Wolfsburg at Old Trafford. The win puts United in control of the group and will most likely help along the way to securing their progression into the knock out rounds.

United struggled early on in the match, as the German champions had obviously travelled to England with very attacking intentions. Michael Owen was forced off early on with a groin strain and was replaced by Dimitar Berbatov who signalled a revitalisation of the United team.

It was a bitter blow as Owen had been hoping to play well in front of the England manager, Fabio Capello, who was sat in the stands. However, the Bulgarian’s introduction was not enough to prevent Wolfsburg from taking the lead when Edin Dzeko rose at the far post and buried his header into the near corner.

It seemed to be the awakening that United needed as they stormed down the other end and scored their two goals in quick succession. The first came from Ryan Giggs, who hit a free kick, which was deflected and then went on.

The second was a piece of United class that saw the ball eventually laid off To Michael Carrick who slammed it in with such authority that you virtually knew that the game was over and done with at that point.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “He felt his groin in training on Sunday and he trained a little bit on Monday, had a rest on Tuesday and thought he was fine. Groins are groins, though, and on a wet surface like that, he has turned quickly, it has gone again and we have had to take him off.”

“It’s not serious, but groin injuries can be troublesome and it could be two to three weeks. The only good part is that his fitness levels are very good, so there shouldn’t be too much of a worry with that.”

United’s next match in the Champions League will be away to CSKA Moscow on a bitterly cold evenings game during the Russian winter. CSKA themselves, revitalised their qualification hopes with a victory over a poor Besiktas side that do not look as though they will go very far this year.

United are well placed and it would take a very brave betting man to lay his money down on another team to win the European Cup this year.

Michael Owen says that he is as good as ever, regardless of his age. Owen has been in good form for his current side, Manchester United, and insists that he is still as good as he was when he scored his famous hat trick against Germany for England eight years ago.

A lot of people have said that Owen would struggle to cope with the pace of life at the Premier League champions, but his performances to date have shown that Sir Alex Ferguson may well have pulled off a managerial masterstroke.

Owen said: “I am not slower now than I was seven, eight years ago. No chance. With the hamstring problems early in my career, they knocked a yard off my pace straightaway, but since then I have been the same player and if anything I have improved.”

“Game awareness is a good word for it. A lot of it is so instinctive it’s hard to put down. It is your experience taking you into areas. You think, ‘Would I have moved there as a kid, would I have anticipated that?’”

“People think I’m past my thirties, I’m in my forties, the way they talk about me. I’m only 29. I’m not past it. It’s not an easy squad to get into with the results the team are getting at the minute. But I’m as passionate as ever about extending my time with England.”

“He came to Highbury to watch us one time — I think I had five touches in the game. Then, I was coming back from injury. So there are reasons why he wouldn’t pick me so far. Yes, I have to play a bit more. I am sure with the number of games we have got, so many cup competitions, I will start my fair share.”

Owen’s recent performances have meant that he is in line for a starting place when Manchester United take on Wolfsburg later this evening. It was clear that playing Wayne Rooney up front on his own did not work in United’s last Champions League game and Ferguson may opt to go for experience over the unpredictable nature of Dimitar Berbatov.

Owen seems to have found his place and if he carries on playing well then he could well finish his career at United. He seems happy and the club seem happy and as far as all parties are concerned, it is a clossoming relationship.

Manchester United are preparing their first attempt to try and sign a player using the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer cash. United are reportedly piecing together a bid for Inter Milan striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as they look to bring in a high profile target to replace their former Portuguese play maker.

United have been knocked by a lot of people in the game over the last two weeks or so because of their failure to move in securing the signatures of a lot of influential players who are all moving to Spain. They have just missed out on signing Karim Benzema from Lyon and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich looks set to follow his fellow Frenchman to Real Madrid.

There is no dancing around the fact that United need a big and high calibre striker, as they are short up front. The arrival of Michael Owen at Old Trafford was nothing more than a stop gap move and they were always going to be linked with a big name player sooner or later. United are going to need a big player that has the ability to change a game instantly and someone that can bring other people into a match just by his presence at the top of the pitch.

Whether Ibrahimovic is the right person for United is highly debatable. Sir Alex Ferguson clearly rates the six-foot plus tall Swede but a lot of pundits would call it a bad move as he rarely turns up in a lot of big games. Furthermore he is well liked by Jose Mourinho who will be incredibly reluctant to let the player leave unless it is in a huge deal.

This is a deal that probably wouldn’t justify the player and United could well be better off looking at other options. The English champions still have a lot of time before the next season starts and they should not panic about trying to find a striker to lead their attack in the coming campaign.

It is easy to see why United may be interested in such a player because he does have a lot going for him. He is tall and very quick on his feet for a player of his height. United will need a big target man up front as they will not now be able to play their slick and aggressive passing football as Ronaldo was so integral to the success of this style of play.

Although a lot of people have called Ibrahimovic quite selfish in the past a move to United and England could end up revitalising his career. The player has already hinted that he wants to move away from the Italian game, which apparently does not suit his style of play and is too slow. He would probably be quite grateful for a move to English football and would therefore be a good signing as United are going to need someone who will sweat blood for the side.

The point is however that a lot of people are supposedly telling Sir Alex Ferguson to steer clear of any bid he is considering making for him. He could get a lot more for his money and the Swedish front man has not really done enough to justify such a huge price tag.

In a football world that is becoming increasingly dominated by cash, Inter are clearly trying to make the most out of a bad situation and United need to keep their business heads on otherwise they could well end up being ripped off.

Ferguson will have a long list of targets and he needs to weigh up how important each one is to his United side. It is important to remember that Ferguson will probably now be considering reinventing his side as he lost two very influential players so far this summer in Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Ferguson has a very good idea of where he wants to take the current side and if Ibrahimovic fits into this philosophy then United will be hard pushed to find someone to match his characteristics. However, they really do need to proceed with caution because the Swede can be very temperamental at times and United will need someone who can raise his level of performance consistently.

Ibrahimovic cannot always do this easily and on a consistent basis and many will say that this, equipped with his slight ego, are the two main reasons why Ferguson should not go any where near the player. It will be interesting to see how the move develops as United could do a lot better.

However, if they do sign one of the top scorers in the Italian leagues then they will have to work very hard in basing the team around him. Ibrahimovic does not strike the ordinary fan as a player that can adapt himself to a team and this will make United’s job a lot harder as they restructure to have another go at European and domestic success.

It is impossible to say at this moment in time whether it would be a gamble that pays off because the move has so many advantages and disadvantages. The money being talked about is a lot of cash in the current climate and United should only spend it if they are absolutely certain that this player is the person to help them move forward.

They may let the move go because the doubts are too big to ignore. Being the top scorer in Italy is totally different to being the top scorer in England where the league is a lot more difficult to play in.

Ibrahimovic is a player that relies on time on the ball and not being pressured in order to make space and bring other players into the side. These are things that he would not get in the Premier League and they are things that mean United may be better off in going for another target. I’m sure with this player that if Real Madrid came in and tried to poach him, United probably wouldn’t be too annoyed.

With former Anfield Ace Michael Owen having signed for Manchester United, plus Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano’s reluctance to commit to the club, Liverpool fans are suffering from a bad dose of treason this summer.

What a difference a year makes. Last summer, Rafael Benitez threw Alonso’s future at the club up in the air by going public with his pursuit of then Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry, with the Spaniard being touted for sale to fund the deal.

With Alonso coming very close to sealing a move to Juventus, both midfielders were part of a long transfer saga which was only exceeded by Real Madrid’s annual quest to prize Cristiano Ronaldo away from Old Trafford.

After Madrid finally landed the Portuguese star already this summer, attention has swung to the best of the rest of midfielders in the Premier League, and unfortunately for Liverpool, speculation continues to surround their Spanish-speaking central pair.

Both Barcelona and free-spending Madrid have made no secret of their desire to bring Argentine Mascherano and Alonso to La Liga respectively. But with neither player rebuff any proposal, loyalty issues once again arise.

There have been suggestions that Alonso has still not forgiven Benitez for his shabby treatment last summer, when the midfielder felt unwanted and unloved as he was almost forced into a move to Juventus. But a deal for Barry, who has since joined Manchester City, never materialised and Alonso stayed at Anfield and produced his finest displays in a Liverpool shirt to date last season.

Whilst some believe Alonso is within his right to hold a grudge against compatriot Benitez for his lack of faith, but in retrospect, his boss may have done him a favour.

Suppose it was not a lack of faith, but the kick up the behind Alonso well and truly needed. It’s easy to forget that the season prior to last summer, the Spanish midfielder had his poorest season in English football, scoring just two goals in an injury hit season.

Injuries are a part of the game players must be prepared to deal with mentally, and it appeared that Alonso lacked passion and determination upon returning from the serious metatarsal injury which disrupted his season. Determination is key to winning the hearts of Liverpool fans, just look at the much-loved Dirk Kuyt.

However, the point is, Alonso didn’t do himself justice in the 2007/08 season, and with Barry forming a formidable partnership with Steven Gerrard for England, Benitez saw the potential. Something had to give, and on the back of a poor season, the boss saw Alonso as a scapegoat towards landing Barry.

After neither move came about, Alonso started the season a Liverpool player again and signalled his intent to prove his worth early on with some ferocious displays and the fine form continued throughout the season as Liverpool totalled their highest points tally in their Premier League history.

Now the tides have turned, and it appears Alonso is the one in control of his destiny, as his performances last season have warranted interest from Europe’s most talked about club this summer. But before Alonso sets his sights on the Bernabeu, he should take a look back at last summer with thanks, rather than resentment for Benitez.

The Liverpool manager brought out the world class player in Alonso once again, as his determination returned while he vowed to prove his importance to the Liverpool team. If it wasn’t for the wake up call, Alonso could be plying his trade for the rather less glamorous Juventus, and he certainly wouldn’t have a £35m price tag which is reportedly the club’s minimum asking price.

As for Mascherano, the little Argentine has had his head easily turned by rumours of interest from European champions Barcelona. It’s little over two years since Benitez pounced to rescue the 25-year-old from his nightmare at West Ham.

The tough midfielder joined the Hammers with Carlos Tevez in 2006 and while his compatriot basked in the glory of almost single headedly saving the club from the drop, Mascherano was inexplicably left to rot in the reserves.

Benitez saw the bargain potential however, and duly snapped him up initially on loan before his incredible displays earned him an £18.6m move from his owners Media Sports Investments. Since then Mascherano has established himself as a genuine world class midfield performer, and it is little wonder that a club of Barcelona’s stature are attempting to sound out a switch.

The Argentine should be flattered, but no more. Should he knock on the manager’s door asking for permission to speak to the Catalan club, Benitez should give him a stark reminder of where he was in January 2007.

But where has the loyalty in football gone? Michael Owen stood with a huge grin on his face as he posed during his unveiling as a Manchester United player, seemingly without a care in the world of his illustrious past at Anfield.

He lost the hearts of some fans when he left the club for Madrid in 2004, but lost their respect for ever by signing that contract. Owen has turned his back on the club twice now, and if Alonso and Mascherano truly wish to go down as Liverpool legend in years to come, they should stop flirting with Europe’s elite and get back to perusing their rivals for that elusive Premier League title.

Liverpool fans believe Michael Owen has done them a massive favour by joining their greatest rivals Manchester United. They are already taunting their arch opponents by claiming they have given away their title after losing Ronaldo to Real Madrid and signing the out of form former Newcastle striker.

Anfield is resounding to anger over what they see as a massive snub by Owen but they say every cloud has a silver lining and the Premiership will be in the bag. Liverpool chased Manchester United all the way last season, finishing second, their highest position since Benitez took over as manager.

Liverpool fans believe Owen lacks the pace and goal-scoring ability of yesteryear and will be no match for the likes of Torres. They say Owen will never be welcome at Liverpool again.

The former Liverpool man remains unrepentant, however. He insists he had no hesitation whatsoever in accepting Sir Alex Ferguson’s surprise offer and has pledged to do his very best for Manchester United. It’s a risk-free deal for the Red Devils as Owen was out of contract at Newcastle where he failed to fire.

Most agree that Owen still has the potential to be world-class but it’s an unknown quantity with question marks over his fitness, even though he sailed through stringent medicals. He is only 29 and could still recover his form. More broad-minded Liverpool fans have suggested that it’s fickle to jeer Owen when he was once a hero at Anfield.

Owen, meantime, has pledged to get back to his best and put his poor spell at Newcastle behind him. He says it feels great to be with Manchester United, a move which never entered his wildest dreams.

“It was a shock. I probably had a poor spell up at Newcastle but prior to that, my career was very good and I am sure a top club like this can regenerate my career,” he says.

Owen’s move to Manchester United adds yet another dimension to the great rivalry between the two teams and is going to make home and away clashes very interesting indeed. Let’s hope Owen isn’t on the bench for either.