Hargreaves needs a break

Owen Hargreaves drove out of Bayern Munich's training ground on Wednesday afternoon but remained tight-lipped on his potential move to Manchester United.

Hargreaves had been expected to offer his version on reports Bayern had fined him for his comments in a German magazine last week which suggested he was keen to take up an offer from the Old Trafford outfit.

"For the time being, I will not comment on this issue any more," said Hargreaves when asked about the United situation. "I am still not 100% and I am going home to get some rest."

The 25-year-old has steadfastly refused to commit his future to the Bundesliga champions over the last few days even though he only recently signed a contract extension which should keep him at the club until 2010.

After missing Tuesday night's friendly with Barcelona and Sunday's league clash with Bochum after being struck down by a flu virus, Hargreaves spent 90 minutes at Bayern's training ground having a medical assessment before being told he was still not fit enough to resume training.

Bayern have already threatened to report United to FIFA over their pursuit of Hargreaves, which Sir Alex Ferguson admitted last week had hit something of a deadlock.

While it would appear little more than posturing on Bayern's behalf given the manner in which they attempted to sign Ruud van Nistelrooy this summer, the attitude of the Bundesliga champions is hardening.

And, with the August 31 transfer deadline just over a week away, it appears United's chances of signing the player are receding fast.

"For me the topic Hargreaves is no topic at all as I have already said last week," said general manager Uli Hoeness, who has previously stated Bayern's implacable opposition to Hargreaves' departure.

"Owen still plays the same role in my plans as he did at the start of the season."