November 2008 to visit renowned knee surgeon, Richard Steadman. Hargreaves underwent surgery on his right knee on 10 November and received a similar operation on his left knee in January 2009. However, this meant that he would miss the remainder of the 2008–09 season, ultimately meaning he would miss out on a second Premier League title as well as League Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and FA Community Shield winner's medals. Hargreaves underwent his rehabilitation programme in the United States, and was due to return to training with United at the Audi Cup in Munich. However, upon assessment, it was decided that he should continue with his rehabilitation in the United States. Hargreaves returned to the club on 23 September 2009, joined by his physiotherapist for a week to aid the transition process and for the club to understand his rehabilitation programme. In January 2010, it was speculated that Hargreaves was slated to return in time for United's Champions League first knockout round tie against Milan, despite not being fully match-fit. However, on 4 February, Hargreaves suffered a major setback to hopes of playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup as Sir Alex Ferguson omitted him from the squad for the knockout stage in favour of Belgian defender Ritchie De Laet. It was expected that Hargreaves would make his return from injury in a reserve team match against Manchester City on 11 March, but on the day of the match, Hargreaves pulled out of the game to continue with his training regime. He eventually made his comeback a week later, playing for 45 minutes of United's reserve team match against Burnley on 18 March. On 24 April, Hargreaves was named as an unused substitute for the first-team match against Tottenham Hotspur. On 2 May 2010, Hargreaves made his Premier League return in the 93rd minute of United's penultimate game of the season against Sunderland. It was his first Premier League action since a 1–1 draw with Chelsea in September 2008, in which time he had missed 113 matches in 20 months. Despite this, Hargreaves missed the beginning of the 2010–11 season, having suffered another injury, for which he travelled to the United States to see a specialist. On 24 September, manager Ferguson announced that Hargreaves had returned to training. On 6 November 2010, he made his first start since September 2008 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, however it was short-lived after a