Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Owen Hargreaves’ shock return to the Manchester United first team had turned into a disaster.
The England international midfielder had not featured for more than two years due to knee problems and was hit by a hamstring injury just five minutes into his comeback against Wolves.
Ferguson commented: “We took a gamble with Owen Hargreaves. We thought by doing that it would give us a compact midfield with experience.
“But he only lasted five minutes. It was a disaster. He has hurt his hamstring, which is unbelievable.”
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Italy’s Francesco Molinari held off the challenge of world number one Lee Westwood to win the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai by one shot.
Molinari shot a final round 67 at the Sheshan International Golf Club to finish on 19 under par, sealing a wire-to-wire success.
Westwood also fired a 67 on the final day and his efforts were enough to ensure that he remains at the top of the rankings for at least another week.
Molinari and Westwood finished well clear of the rest of the field, with England’s Luke and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay finishing tied for third on nine under par, ten shots adrift of the winner.
Captain Andrew Strauss struck an unbeaten century as England started their Ashes tour with a six-wicket victory over Western Australia in Perth.
The hosts had started the third and final day of the game in a strong position on 109-1 in their second innings, but England engineered a collapse which saw WA fall to 223 all out.
Off-spinner Graeme Swann was the pick of the attack with four wickets, while seamers Stuart Broad and Steven Finn took two wickets apiece.
That left England needing 243 for victory and they reached their target in just over 47 overs, with Strauss the star of the show.
The left-hand opening batsman was undefeated on 120 when the win was sealed, having hit 15 fours and a six from 141 balls faced.
Newly-crowned world champion Jorge Lorenzo finished the season in style with victory on home soil at the Valencia MotoGP.
Lorenzo started from second place on the grid and lost several places in the early laps of the race, before finding his pace and roaring through the field to eventually overhaul pole-sitter Casey Stoner, who led off from the start.
Stoner, in his final race for Ducati, held on to finish in second place, with Lorenzo’s Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi coming home in third.
