Hargreaves Misses England

Manchester United's Owen Hargreaves has been ruled out of England's opening World Cup qualifiers, adding to Fabio Capello's problems in midfield. Hargreaves, who joins Steven Gerrard on the sidelines, is recovering from tendinitis in his knee and will play in United's Super Cup game on Friday.

But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Hargreaves will not be fit for England's games on 6 and 10 September.

"Owen will not be ready as he needs recovery time," said Ferguson. "Anyone could play against Andorra. But Croatia is different - you need players who are 100%," he said.

"We sent Owen to the right specialist and he had the right treatment, so it is just a matter of him getting on with it now. It has not been easy for him. Having tendinitis can be irritating for a player.

"But he has trained for 10 days and it is now important to give him some minutes on the pitch. I think it (the England games) will be too early for him. He is not ready for that."