Potential Replacements for Manchester United's Chicharito

The Premier league is due to start in a few weeks. The reigning champions, Manchester United, will need to do without one of their top players for the beginning of the season. Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez will be out around a month after suffering a concussion in training. Concussions can be very fickle injuries and Hernandez could be out longer if he suffers a setback in recovery. Hernandez proved to be an excellent addition last year, as he scored more than twenty goals in his first season with Manchester United. He worked very well with Wayne Rooney last year and his presence will be missed in the early part of the season.

The Red Devils have a number of potential strike partners for Wayne Rooney in Hernandez's absence.

Dimitar Berbatov

Berbatov was the top striker (besides Rooney) in 2009, but with the addition of Hernandez he was relegated to the bench despite scoring 20 league goals last season. He's really fallen out of favor but perhaps, given a few starts and successes, he will work his way back into consideration. United paid nearly 31 million pounds for Berbatov and should really try to get their money's worth from him.

Michael Owen

Owen is and has been an injury risk his entire career. But when healthy, however infrequently, Owen's been a top striker. He may be past his prime but the option are limited. He scored a few times in preseason and appears to be well conditioned. Owen scored a hat-trick against Wolfsburg in the Champions League last season and appears to have retained some goal scoring form. I'd expect Owen to be used more as a late game sub, or last resort in the starting XI.

Danny Welbeck/Federico Macheda/Gabriel Obertan

These three youngsters have yet to get real playing time at Man U. Welbeck is a long shot, but could be a very good player for the Red Devils. On loan at Sunderland last season, Welbeck scored six goals in 26 appearances. Macheda made a splash with a few timely goals in 2008, but hasn't seen the field much in the interim. He spent half of last season on loan at Sampdoria but couldn't find the back of the net. The Frenchman Obertan has ridden the Man U bench since his signing in 2009. He's made only 14 league appearances but did score his first goal in European competition last November. All three are young and would need to make a serious impact in the preseason to win regular playing time.

None of these players can match up to Hernandez, and hopefully his return will occur sooner than later.

Source: ESPN News Staff, Hernandez back in a month, ESPN Soccernet.com