Source: Daily_Mail
Capello insists Manchester United crock Hargreaves can still make World Cup
Still time: Fabio Capello could still take Owen Hargreaves to the World Cup finals[LNB]England boss Fabio Capello insists there is still time for Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves to earn a place in the World Cup squad heading to South Africa next year.[LNB]Hargreaves, 28, has been out of action for almost 15 months after major surgery on both knees to cure a tendinitis problem - but he is almost ready to return to full training.[LNB]United boss Sir Alex Ferguson recently revealed his 2007 signing from Bayern Munich is working well with physios and needs to regain the confidence needed before being ready for competitive football.[LNB]Capello, who is refusing to rule Hargreaves out of his plans, said:'Why not? He can because he has time to recover everything. He has toplay. Players who do not play will not be with me.'[LNB]The Italianadded: 'I spoke to him two months ago, I met him in Manchester and hewas just ready to start training. But now he is not fit.[LNB]'He hassix months to recover his good form but he needs to play. I will chooseplayers that will be fit in May, the players that play all the games.'[LNB]Hargreaveswas England's player of the tournament for the 2006 World Cup inGermany but has had serious injury problems since - his last game forhis country was against America in the season before last.[LNB] Since then Gareth Barry has established himself as Capello's first-choice defensive midfielder, although Capello likes players such as Hargreaves who can play in more than one position.[LNB]The England boss is 'more or less' settled on his squad for South Africa and is hoping for a clean bill of health come the end of the season.[LNB]He said: 'More or less, I know all the players. I follow the players and check on them but we have to wait.[LNB]'When I decide the 23 players that will stay with me, I hope the best players will be fit. This is the reason why I have to follow more players.'[LNB]England will be staying in Rustenburg, after Capello's fears over the state of the training pitches were eased.[LNB]'The facilities are okay, there were some problems with the pitches butI spoke to people there and they will be okay for June when we are inSouth Africa,' he said.[LNB] Frustrating wait: Hargreaves in action for United against Villarreal in September 2008[LNB]'We found Rustenburg was the best place for us. It is quiet, good for security, is close to the stadium where we play the first game - everything is okay.'[LNB]Before that, Capello wants to play Egypt at Wembley on March 3, then arrange a friendly with Mexico.[LNB]He added: 'We have to decide. We are speaking with these countries but have not decided yet.[LNB]'I think we will play March 3 at Wembley, against Egypt, then we have to find the date to play against Mexico. There are some problems, I don't know if we will play Sunday or Monday.[LNB]'All the friendly games we played were against European teams and we know the style of these teams. We have to play against South Americans and African teams with a different style.'[LNB]Capello was speaking at the unveiling of Barnet's new training facilities, which were constructed with the help of the Football Foundation.[LNB]'It's a fantastic place for training, I've never seen one so big in Italy,' Capello said. [LNB]'Juventus or Inter Milan haven't got a training camp like this, it's incredible and surprised me.[LNB]'I'm very happy to see the young players and the women using it - it's very important for the sport.'[LNB] Hargreaves lacking confidence to beat psychological hurdles in comebackUnited face battle with McClaren to sign Milan striker Klaas-Jan HuntelaarMANCHESTER UNITED FC
