Despite still not hat having featured for the Manchester United first team since September of 2008, Owen Hargreaves has not abandoned the idea of playing for England in this summer’s World Cup.
The combative midfield man finally played 45 minutes for the United reserves on Thursday after 18 months out with tendinitis-related problems. He was involved in the 2-0 win over Burnley and now hopes to help United claim a fourth successive Premier League title and convince England boss Fabio Capello to take a chance on him in South Africa.
He knows he will have to get back into the Red Devils team soon though if he is to live that dream and, given how long it has taken him to play just a half, making the plane with England must surely be unlikely.
However, that does not phase the player who says he will give his all to achieve his immediate goals in what little time he has.
"The World Cup is an incentive. Absolutely. But I need to see progress now, pretty quick, for the World Cup to become even a realistic option," Hargreaves was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
"(Capello) was happy with how I played for England. When he saw me play for Man United he was happy with how I played. Whether in Germany or England, a manager has always played me, especially to win big games. Maybe he sees that and would like me to have an impact on the World Cup. I would love that."
Hargreaves admits that he has lived a nightmare since helping United win the Champions League in Moscow nearly two years ago and now just hopes the worst is behind him, while also insisting everything that has gone wrong for him will still not see him shirking the big challenges for fear of further injury.
The former Bayern Munich ace added: “I could never have imagined in my darkest dreams something like this would happen to me.
"My athletic ability has taken me everywhere I wanted to go, from Canada to Germany, playing for England, playing for Man United. To have that temporarily taken away is humbling.
"I didn't have the same quality muscle as before. Instead of muscles taking the shock absorption, my tendon was. But when I got an ache, I didn't stop. I kept playing.
"It wasn't dealt with the way it should have been initially. I saw so-called specialists who said 'this is what you need and you will have absolutely no reaction' and I had a massive reaction. You like to think you will get the best advice possible but that is not always possible.
"Injuries take time. It's not a question of can I go into a 50-50? I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest. It's more about managing my training, making sure I don't do too much. If I play, shall I do 30 minutes? 40 minutes? Only I can feel it. If you have had double knee surgery you're going to feel it."