After missing large chunks of the season and pre-season over recent years, the club had previously told the media it was a “virus”. After revealing what was really keeping him out, the club suggested he would miss the rest of the season, although in reality, it could be his whole career at stake.

However, Fletch has insisted he is doing everything he can to manage his condition so he can be back for the start of next season.

“I’m okay,” said Fletcher. “I’m taking all my medication and listening to the doctor. It’s a week-by-week situation so I’ve not got any timescale on recovery, but the target for me is next season now. If I can come back then that would be great for me. It’s something that will never leave me, but you have to find somehow a way to manage it so that I can still play my football. I’m trying everything under the sun at the moment, diet and hypnotherapy.”

Fletcher has been suffering from ulcerative colitis for some time which has lead to long periods on the sidelines.

The club’s medical staff have advised that he takes time out from playing to give him the best “chance possible of achieving full remission once again.”

Get well soon, Fletch.

What is ulcerative colitis?

Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that affects the lining of the large intestine (colon) and rectum.

The cause of ulcerative colitis is unknown. People with this condition have problems with the immune system, but it is not clear whether immune problems cause this illness.

About half of patients with ulcerative colitis have mild symptoms. Patients with more severe ulcerative colitis tend to respond less well to medications.

Permanent and complete control of symptoms with medications is unusual. Cure is only possible through complete removal of the large intestine. The risk of colon cancer increases in each decade after ulcerative colitis is diagnosed.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this,” said Fletcher. “This club needs to qualify for the Champions League, so we know we have to get a positive result. They are going to come at us because they have to win the game and we’re fully aware of that. We are under no illusions as to what we have to do. We need a positive result and we’ll be going to win the game because you never know what Benfica will do in the other game. We fully expect them to win, but you never know, so it’s important we win the match. If we do that we might get a little favour with Benfica not winning, in which case we win the group. But if not, we will finish second – the most important thing now is getting through. You want to be through by this stage and you want to be in pole position to win the group. Unfortunately, we are not in that position and so you look back to the two home draws with Basel and Benfica. If you don’t win your home games in the Champions League then it’s never going to be as easy as you’d like.”

“The time has flown since my debut and I’ve enjoyed everything about playing for Manchester United,” he said. “It’s all I’ve ever known and it’s become my home. It’s an achievement I want to build on. The next target has to be 350, then 400 and so on – you always want to keep going.”

His recovery from the virus hasn’t been smooth though, with the midfielder having a set back and missing further games this season. However, the International break came at the right time for him, with him getting a couple of games under his belt to aid his match fitness.

Fletcher’s form has been suspect this season and he still looks underweight, but the Scottish midfielder claims he feels fine now.

“I feel fine. I knew I would be,” said Fletcher. “My natural fitness is always very good. I never had a problem with that, and I worked hard with the fitness coaches whilst the rest of the lads were away on tour. I reached my level fairly quickly, then it was a question of matches because the more you play, the more you get your sharpness back and awareness back. I was lucky in the respect I was able to get a few games for Scotland before I played for United, which definitely helped me. I have played 10 games so far this season and I feel as though I am back to the level I should be at.”

Now that we’ve had a few days to digest our implosion against Manchester City, the only thing to do now is move on. It’s confined to the history books, forget it. Nothing can be changed now. The only thing that can be done is correcting it in the future. Starting on Saturday when we kick-off at noon away to Everton.

Darren Fletcher has enjoyed scoring against Everton in the past

Although the hurt of the humiliating defeat will take an age to go away, the bright side ensures we’ve plenty of football to keep ourselves occupied in the immediate future. Despite us struggling at Goodison Park in recent seasons, particularly last season when we inexplicably gave up a two-goal lead in injury-time, some things are finally falling our way.

The comeback of Tom Cleverley against Aldershot in the Carling Cup is a massive boost to the entire squad but especially in midfield as we have lacked cohesion and confidence during his absence. Nemanja Vidic’s return from injury is also well-timed as the Serb hopes to help our recently leaky defence.

However, equally as important will be the shape which Everton are heading into Saturday’s encounter with. After their heart-breaking extra-time loss to Chelsea, David Moyes’ charges will be fatigued after their lengthy excursions. Also, having lost four of their last five matchss, they can hardly be highy confident facing the prospect of a wounded animal in the form of the champions of England looking to bounce back from the mother of all losses.

In recent season, we have seldom picked up three points from the Blue half of Merseyside. But that could and should be about to change on Saturday as the return of key players, coupled with our opponents dire recent form bodes well and a win is well within our reach is we approach the match professionally.

On their return from Goodison Park, United is going to host Otelul Galati for some Champions League action, watch Clarence Seedorf, Gianluigi Buffon, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Viera recreate some of the historic moments of the competition:

This message was brought to you by Heineken, sponsors of the UEFA Champions League, but it contains our writer’s opinion.

“We don’t want to give City the confidence of winning trophies to get to our level,” Fletcher said. “Our job is to keep Manchester United on top and as long as we keep on winning the big titles, it means they’re not winning them. If City were to go on a run of winning a lot of trophies, then they would become a global club. But for world recognition, United stands out alone. The great thing about United is the history of the club. No-one can take away the Busby Babes, the Munich tragedy – all of these things are engrained in the club’s history. United are known all around the world for its history and success, which is what makes it so strong and such a special club. Teams like Chelsea have won trophies and built on that success, but that’s been maybe over a 10-year period. They still don’t have the global appeal and size of Manchester United and that’s how we want it to stay.”

Kenny Miller opened the scoring for Scotland thanks to an assist from captain Darren Fletcher.

Fletch then put Scotland 2-1 up with just over five minutes left to play, before a 90th pen for the Czech Republic.

Despite not having played for United yet this season, he has been called up to the Scottish team to face the Czech Republic and Lithuania. However, our midfielder claims his inclusion shouldn’t be viewed as a risk.

“Not at all because of the experience I have at this level,” said Fletcher. “I have 53 caps so I know what to expect at this level. I’m the captain – I feel I bring a lot to the team in terms of communication. I feel as fit as I ever have, I feel strong. Players have had one or two more matches than me but I don’t believe that’s a problem.”