Fergie Fears Over Hargreaves

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Owen Hargreaves' confidence has suffered as a result of his long injury lay-off.

The Manchester United midfielder, who was left out of Fabio Capello's 30-man provisional World Cup squad, has played only 35 seconds for his club since returning from 20 months out with chronic tendinitis in his knees earlier this month.

That brief comeback came during the United's penultimate game of the season against Sunderland, but England international Hargreaves was not included for the final fixture at home to Stoke.

And manager Ferguson believes the former Bayern Munich player must overcome a mental barrier before he can get back to playing at his best ability.

"He's had a tough time," Ferguson said in The Times. "Now it's that mental step.

"He's enthusiastic about it but he needs that big step forward to playing a game."