It has just been confirmed that the hamstring injury Michael Owen sustained during last weekend’s Carling Cup Final is going to keep him out for the rest of the season.

It has been a very mixed bag for Owen all season. Whilst he has made 31 appearances for United, 20 of those were substitute appearances and even a couple of the starts have ended with him being substituted due to a variety of injuries.

When we signed him, many people were questioning his ability to stay free from injury but personally, I felt that he would fare far better at Manchester United simply because he would get the needed rest between games. This has clearly not proved to be the case and whilst this might seem a bit kneejerk, serious questions must now be raised about the future for Michael Owen.

It is clear that he can break down at any given moment and that is not ideal for any team.

However, despite not having an enormous amount of minutes on the pitch, he has managed to score an impressive nine goals for Manchester United. The equaliser in the Carling Cup Final was perhaps the most important but no one will ever forget the winner he scored against Manchester City earlier in the season.

It’s a shame for Michael Owen and we must now go into the most crucial stage of the season without him.