United hit back at Hargreaves’ claims he was treated as medical ‘guinea pig’

In the aftermath of Wednesday’s Carling Cup win for Manchester City against Birmingham, when Hargreaves marked his Blues debut with a goal, the 30-year-old outlined the unhappiness over sections of the treatment he received to combat a tendinitis injury he had before leaving Bayern Munich in 2007. Hargreaves said in the end, he felt like “a guinea pig” such were the revolutionary treatments he was forced to undergo in an effort to solve a problem he felt was exacerbated by the injections.

Sir Alex Ferguson has mounted a staunch defence of his medical staff, while United have released a full statement, in which they dismiss Hargreaves’ claims and state they remain “comfortable” with the treatment the midfielder received.

“United does not acknowledge any validity in the comments Owen is alleged to have made,” said the statement.

The statement continued: “Manchester United is disappointed with Owen’s remarks after the game on Wednesday. The club gave him the best possible care for three years and is as disappointed as anyone he was not able to play a part in the team’s success at that time.”

Earlier, Ferguson was adamant any criticism of his back-room team was completely without foundation. “Do you think we would be successful if they were not 100 per cent brilliant? Our doctor and his five physios are fantastic – that is my opinion and that is more important than what anyone else has to say about it,” said the Scot.

Hargreaves underwent surgery on both knees during the 2008-09 season. Following the operations, Hargreaves played just six minutes of first-team football as he battled to regain fitness and was eventually released by United in the summer. But he has achieved full fitness barely three weeks after joining City on a free transfer and claimed on Wednesday the medical treatment he received at United did more harm than good.

Aware of the delicate nature of the matter, City manager Roberto Mancini opted to tiptoe carefully through the row yesterday, although he confirmed Hargreaves is now pain free.

“There are no problems, apart from a bit of tiredness,” Mancini said. “He has been out for two years, which is a long period. He has worked hard for the last six months in Canada. And I hope it has solved all his problems. I don’t think they [United] got it wrong. I just hope he will be lucky in the next two years.”

United face Stoke this evening, while City host Everton early this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s poor start to the season is the fault of the players and not that of manager Arsene Wenger, winger Theo Walcott has insisted.

Arsenal, who have made their worst start to a season since 1953, lie 17th in the Premier League and could drop into the relegation zone if they lose to Bolton Wanderers today.

Their bad start, which has yielded four points from a possible 15, has triggered criticism from fans demanding Wenger be sacked after almost 15 years in the job.

However, Walcott said: “The boss is a great man, he can deal with anything thrown at him. Us players, we need to look at ourselves and start doing it on the pitch, to be honest.”