Owen Hargreaves has been ruled out for the rest of the season following months of investigating the options available to him. After travelling to America, Sweden and London in the past fortnight, it was agreed that Hargreaves would have surgery in a bid to cure his tendonitis.

He has undergone surgery on his right knee which will later be followed by treatment to the left, which will keep him out of action until next season.

This is not the news United wanted to be hearing, with no natural defensive-minded player in our first team… unless we count Rodrigo Possebon.

During the summer Sir Alex Ferguson claimed that Possebon would be getting first team opportunities this season, which we can assume he meant League Cup appearances. However, if Rafael Da Silva is deemed ready for the big stage of the Premiership, who was spotted by the same scout as Possebon, I don’t see why he shouldn’t be given a go also.

The coaches rate him highly and have been singing his praises since he joined in January of this year.

“Rodrigo is a tall, elegant midfielder who fits into the idea of a modern footballer,” McClair told the Manchester Evening News back in February. “He has very good ability and is a steady box-to-box player rather than your silky tricky midfielder.”

Is now the time to give Possebon a run in the team, starting with Stoke at the weekend following his appearance tonight against QPR?