England midfielder Owen Hargreaves suffered a suspected broken left leg during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga match against Armenia Bielefeld on Saturday afternoon.

He was carried off the pitch after 24 minutes and was expected to have a scan. However Bayern admitted they thought his fibula may have been snapped in a tackle with Bielefeld's Thorben Marx.

Hargreaves was a summer target of Manchester United but Bayern refused to sell the 25-year-old.

Bayern boss Felix Magath confirmed: "We fear he might have broken his left fibula. I think he will be X-rayed."

If the injury is confirmed as a break - and Bayern painted a gloomy picture of the situation - Hargreaves will be forced to miss England's Euro 2008 qualifiers against FYR Macedonia and Croatia next month.

His absence would pose a problem for new England head coach Steve McClaren, who has seen Hargreaves establish himself in central midfield and win over the many doubters who claimed he was not international class.

Hargreaves has played his best football for England in the past three months and his presence in a defensive midfield role has freed up Steven Gerrard to move to the right side, where the Liverpool captain has flourished.

Michael Carrick could be asked to replace Hargreaves, or Gerrard may even have to return to the centre for the October double-header.

However the knee injury sustained by Aaron Lennon, which requires surgery, means the Tottenham player will certainly miss the qualifiers and he would have been the most logical replacement for Gerrard on the right.

McClaren may find there is a case for recalling former captain David Beckham if he desires an experienced substitute for Hargreaves in the squad. Beckham, 31, has stated his determination to win back his England place, having so far been omitted by McClaren.

As well as denying Bayern a key man for their domestic and European campaigns, a broken leg may also force United to abandon their plans to try again for Hargreaves in January.

United made their interest clear last month as they looked to bring a ball-winning midfielder to Old Trafford.

Hargreaves admitted he was flattered yet Bayern vowed they would not sell. Hargreaves is under contract with the German club until 2010.

United have admitted that they will be quick to act during the next transfer window should Bayern show any interest in selling a player who came through their youth ranks and has never played in the Barclays Premiership.