Manchester United's Michael Owen has been hit by another injury setback, which might keep him out of action until Christmas. The injury prone Manchester United front man, received yet another injury in early November in the Reds' Champions League match against Otelul Galati.

Owen was given a rare place in the starting lineup of the squad, but after only ten minutes, he was hobbling back off the pitch again with a thigh injury, only two minutes after Antonio Valencia’s opening goal in the eight minute. Manchester United went on to win 2-1.

The former England striker has suffered many fitness problems at United since his hamstring injury in the 2010 Carling Cup final. His injuries have certainly affected the amount of playing time he gets - he's made just 52 appearances (including substitute appearances) during his time at Manchester United.

At 31 years old, he is getting old (in football terms) and no one knows how long his latest injury will put him on the bench for. 3 months? A year? The future doesn't look great for him - he certainly doesn't inspire us to take on any more Manchester United bets.

Sir Alex Ferguson hopes Owen will recover from his thigh injury - not least because prior to the injury he had been in a rich vein of form. "Hopefully he won't be out too long. It's a killer because he started the season very well, and his performances in training have been terrific."

Even though Owen went off after just 10 minutes, Fergie was keep to acknowledge the key part he played in creating the opening goal. "We wouldn’t have scored that goal if Michael had not made his run so it is a bit of a blow. It's a real shame."

After going for a medical check-up, it was reported by the official Manchester United website that he had injured his thigh muscle, and would not be able to play for at least 6 weeks. He will be missed - Manchester United's odds on the Premier league betting markets have already started dropping off. That said, with a team full of football stars like Berbatov and Rooney, hopefully he won't be missed too much!