It emerged by 2008 that Hargreaves was suffering from a problem with his patella tendon and this was eventually narrowed down to patellar tendinitis. Surgeon Richard Steadman stated that Hargreaves knees were in a worse state than any other he had come across in his 35 years of experience. After numerous operations on both his knees, Steadman said in September 2010 that Hargreaves' problems with his knees were over but Alex Ferguson denied this. In November 2010, Hargreaves made his first start for Manchester United in 777 days, but limped off after six minutes.