Owen Hargreaves has been left out of Manchester United's squad for the Champions League's knockout stages and may not play for the club again as his contract runs out in the summer. The 30-year-old has played six minutes for the first team this season and appears no nearer to returning to full fitness.

One option is for a pay-as-you-play proposal but even that cannot be guaranteed given Hargreaves's history of injuries since joining United from Bayern Munich in May 2007. The midfielder has made 26 starts but there have been only two brief appearances since the pain of tendinitis in both knees became too much and he was removed from the squad in September 2008 to begin the process of recovery that has involved two major operations.

His first comeback was as a substitute in the final minute of a league match at Sunderland in May last year but Hargreaves then suffered a six-month setback. When he was finally declared fit again, a surprise inclusion against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford in November, he lasted five minutes before he was forced off with a hamstring injury. Ferguson described it at the time as a "disaster".

Gary Neville, who announced his retirement from football yesterday, is another notable absentee on the 25-man list.