Owen Hargreaves has made a positive start to his Manchester United comeback bid. After more than 12 months on the sidelines, following ground-breaking surgery on both knees to combat a tendinitis problem that has plagued him since before his £18m move from Bayern Munich, the England midfielder has now returned to the club's Carrington training complex.

The Calgary-born player is currently in the middle of a handover process between his USA-based physio, who has guided his rehabilitation so far, and the Red Devils' medical staff.

Once that is complete, Hargreaves should then be able to continue his recovery programme at Carrington and begin football training within a couple of weeks.

If that goes well, the 28-year-old may be fit enough to resume his career in November. Sir Alex Ferguson is acutely aware these are early days for Hargreaves, who could yet force his way into Fabio Capello's 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ plans.

However, Ferguson confirmed Hargreaves' development is currently going according to plan. "Owen is doing very well," said the United manager.

"Obviously he is delighted to be back because it has been such a long time, and I am very pleased with his progress. We will probably get him into football training in ten days' time and depending on how well he does, he should be back at the beginning of November."