United Lose Heinze to Olympics

By Chris O'Brien
July 22 2004

Summer acquisition Gabriel Heinze could miss up to 7 of United's opening matches after being named in the Argentina squad for the Olympics Games. The news will come as a major blow to Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo already missing due to the competition in Athens.

Manchester United's latest acquisition Gabriel Heinze has been called up to the Argentina squad for the forthcoming Olympics Games competition in Athens.

As ManUtdWeb previously reported, Sir Alex Ferguson was sweating after the no nonsense centre-half was included in the provisional squad for the tournament, and Argentine manager Marcelo Belsa has decided to select Heinze as one of the three over-23 players permitted in the squad.

The news follows Cristiano Ronaldo's inclusion in the Portugease Olympic squad, and means United could lose the duo for up to 7 vital games as the 2004/2005 season gets underway.

Ronaldo and Heinze are likely to miss 4 Premiership encounters, and could also be absent for both legs of the European Cup qualification matches and the Community Shield final against Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium.