Owen Hargreaves in training with QPR

Owen Hargreaves is training with QPR following his release from Manchester City at the end of last season.

Hargreaves, who has 42 caps for England, joined the Queens Park Rangers squad for his first session today, the London club confirmed.

The 31-year-old moved to Manchester United from Bayern for a fee believed to be around £17million in 2007 but he has been plagued by injuries over the last four seasons.

QPR manager Mark Hughes said: "Owen is training with the group. There is no obligation for either party.

"He is keen to retain his fitness and we are more than happy to help him by allowing him to train with us and use our facility at Harlington."

Hargreaves' struggles in the last few years prompted him to contemplate retirement after leaving City but by training with QPR, it seems he is determined to continue his playing career.



It appeared he had won his fitness battle when he made a goalscoring Blues debut in a Carling Cup encounter against Birmingham in September.

However, Hargreaves made just three more appearances for City and was not seen again after being introduced as a late substitute in the FA Cup third-round defeat to United at the Etihad Stadium in January.

And only last month he said: "I don't want to chase something. If I get the right fit I will go for it.

"But I am not forced to do anything and if I can't get back to the level I used to, I don't want to play."

Owen Hargreaves: Roy right for non-vintage England

Former England international Owen Hargreaves has launched a defence of Roy Hodgson's tactical approach since taking the national job.



Hodgson has been criticised in some quarters for how he has set the side out so far, with the defensive line dropping back and allowing the opposition the lion's share of possession.



However, Hargreaves, who came close to linking up with Roy Hodgson when he was West Brom manager last summer, feels the current England crop does not possess the quality to play a more expansive game.



"I was impressed, and one of the reasons I considered going there was his ability as a manager," Hargreaves told Sky Sports. "He's brought that experience to the England set-up, and most importantly the team's going to be difficult to beat. I think the fans would like to see England being a little bit more attacking, but I think the most important thing is that you're in each game.



"If you look at the past teams, then this is probably not the most talented individual team, but if they play together as they did against France, and they find the right balance between attacking and defending, then it can be a very talented group.



"I think in the past we've had one of the most talented teams at the tournament but still failed to reach the levels we probably should have."

Retirement an option for Hargreaves

Owen Hargreaves is considering whether to call time on his career.



Hargreaves caused a minor sensation last summer when he signed a one-year contract with Manchester City following his release by Manchester United.



Plagued by injury for the previous three seasons, it appeared Hargreaves had won his fitness battle when he made a goalscoring Blues debut in a Carling Cup encounter against Birmingham in September.



However, the 31-year-old made just three more appearances for City and was not seen again after being introduced as a late substitute in the FA Cup third-round defeat to United at the Etihad Stadium in January.



Under the circumstances, it was hardly a surprise when City confirmed they would not be offering Hargreaves another contract, pitching the one-time England midfielder into limbo.



And, speaking to publicise McDonald's Player Escort Programme in Kiev, Hargreaves admitted retirement was one of the options he is thinking about.



"I don't want to chase something," he said.



"If I get the right fit I will go for it.



"But I am not forced to do anything and if I can't get back to the level I used to, I don't want to play."



Speaking just hours before England take on Sweden in their second game of Euro 2012, it emphasised what a chronic waste of talent Hargreaves' career has become.



After all, he was England's best player at the 2006 World Cup and is younger than both Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, who will man the midfield in Kiev.



Yet he won just eight caps after becoming the only England player to score in that fateful quarter-final shoot-out defeat to Portugal in Gelsenkirchen, as he fell victim to a serious knee condition from which he has never been able to fully recover.



"I am a football player," he said. "That is how I am identified as an individual.



"I was pretty humbled in the sense that was taken away from me. Now it is about taking the next step and deciding what I want to do.



"But the really satisfying thing is that I have put myself in a position where I can actually think about it.



"Maybe I will never be in a Champions League final or semi-final again but to get to where I am now is a huge achievement."



Where Hargreaves is now is a moot point.



On one hand he talks enthusiastically about the number of training games - approximately 30 - he was able to play in his last four months at City, on the other he accepts sometimes his body has not been able to do what his mind tells it.



It has been suggested that, mentally, Hargreaves has lost the edge. Yet this is the same person willing to put a video on YouTube last summer in an attempt to prove his fitness and find a club.



"I won't do it again but it was something I felt was right for me," he said.



"I have never been conventional in the sense of my career path and my intentions were correct. I needed to find a club.



"I don't see why anyone should have a problem with someone dedicating themselves to getting fit whilst everyone else is on holiday.



"Funnily enough, I could have made a business out of it so many people expressed an interest, from marketing, documentary-makers, journalists.



"People only see the glamour of football. I wanted to show how much effort I was putting in."



Born in Canada, raised in Germany, played for England, Hargreaves is not tied into a conventional career path, and Major League Soccer in particular might welcome a player of his talent.



Following old team-mate Gary Neville into coaching appeals, and Hargreaves speaks well enough for a career in the media should he so wish.



It does seem like the last 12 months has taken him no further forward.



Actually, he has made a massive stride.



If nothing else, should he call it a day, his last professional appearance will not be that horrible afternoon at Old Trafford when, selected to face Wolves at Old Trafford in November 2010, he lasted barely five minutes before his hamstring went, just as he knew it would.



"No matter what happens from this point forward, I can hold my head up high," he said.



"I wanted to finish on a better note than that Wolves game. To have done that would have been awful. I couldn't face that."