Darren Fletcher undergoes surgery in a bid to save his career

By SIMON STONE
Published on 19/01/2013 02:11

MANCHESTER United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes midfielder Darren Fletcher has given himself the best chance of salvaging his top-flight career by undergoing surgery to cure a chronic bowel condition.

After taking nine months out to see if the symptoms settled down, Fletcher returned to action in September and seemed to be making progress. However, after appearing in three games out of four in November, Fletcher has been restricted to two brief substitute appearances, the last of which came on Boxing Day. When the 28-year-old did not even make the bench for Wednesday night’s FA Cup tie with West Ham, when Ferguson made ten changes, it was obvious something was wrong. And on Thursday, United confirmed Fletcher had undergone surgery.

“It is something we thought would happen anyway and will improve his prospects,” Ferguson said. “He tried his best to cope with the condition but in the last couple of weeks it has come back again. It is a blow but this operation, hopefully, will solve the situation in terms of his career and, very importantly, his health. It will take him a while to recover but we expect him back in July.”

Ferguson believes Fletcher’s defiant attitude will be an asset as he tries to fight his way back to his best.

However, there is little doubt that the United manager felt something had to be done if the player was ever to regain top form after a problem that first became apparent in March 2011. “He is a fantastic character and a brilliant boy. He will do his best, no doubt about that, he always does.”