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Hargreaves issues form pledge
Manchester United, 09:31, August 19, 2008 ,
Owen Hargreaves claims he was never more than 60% fit last season and promised Man United fans to expect a big improvement from him.
The 27-year-old England international midfielder, who joined United from Bayern Munich, enjoyed a successful campaign last time around with United with a Premier League and Champions League winners medal to show. However on a personal note Hargreaves struggled with a tendinitis problem in his knee which is still plaguing him at the start of this term.
He missed the 1-1 draw against Newcastle and is out of the England squad for Wednesday's friendly against the Czech Republic, while Sir Alex Ferguson feels the Portsmouth clash next Monday will come too soon for him. But Hargreaves says the United medical staff have got to the bottom of his problem now and he is confident of enjoying a much better season when he is fully fit.
"There is a lot more to come from me," he said.
"I don't think I played a game healthy last season. I was at about 50 or 60% at best.
"When I had another scan on the knee this summer it had not improved, so I came back early to try to fix it at the beginning of pre-season.
"Hopefully I will be fit pretty soon."
He added: "I am not going to set a timetable but I am close.
"I am working on my fitness every day and while I have not joined in with the lads yet, hopefully it will happen this week.
"Whether I am fit for Portsmouth or the match after that, the most important thing is I am healthy for the rest of the season."