Owen out of World Cup after hamstring operation

Owen has been ruled out for the season, and almost certainly out of the World Cup, with the hamstring injury he picked up during Sunday's Carling Cup final victory over Aston Villa at Wembley.

Despite being part of the matchday squad for all but one game in United's lengthy campaign, it was only Owen's 11th start in all competitions, one of the major reasons why he was consistently overlooked by Fabio Capello.

It is a low number for a player of such obvious talent. And, while Ferguson can point to the brilliance of Wayne Rooney as the reason for Owen's regular omissions, the Red Devils chief accepts he could have made more use of a player he snapped up on a free transfer last summer.

"Michael has been such an important player for us and I know I have not used him as much as I should have," said Ferguson.

"That is a lot to do with Rooney's form and our choice of playing one striker. He has been a little bit unfortunate with that.

"But we recognise he has made a great contribution.

"He is a good professional who has been terrific in the dressing room.

"It is the first time he has had a hamstring injury in four years as well, so it is a disappointment for the lad and a bad blow for us."

In the immediate aftermath of the final, after he had scored his ninth goal of the season to pull United level before pulling up chasing a ball into the box after half an hour, Owen expressed optimism that he would be available in a couple of weeks.

But scans showed the tear to be far worse than the 30-year-old imagined, robbing United of one of their senior strikers at a crucial stage of the season.

"He will have an operation on Monday morning," said Ferguson. "It is a terrible blow for the lad and disappointing news for us too. He has never missed a training session all season.

"The heavy pitch at Wembley on Sunday made some contribution to it but really it is just bad luck."

Owen stated at the weekend that he expected to remain with United for the final year of his contract.