He returned to Manchester United in a coaching capacity in October 2020, working with the club's under-16s players, before being appointed to the first team in January 2021.

[6] The middle of Fletcher's career was disrupted by an extended break from football due to health problems caused by ulcerative colitis.

[7] Between November 2011 and December 2013, he played only ten times for his club, undergoing an operation in early 2013 to lessen the effects of the condition after a failed return in September 2012.

[16] He progressed quickly with Manchester United, and could have become the youngest player ever to appear in their first team when he was selected in their squad for the final fixture of the 1999–2000 FA Premier League season, against Aston Villa on 14 May 2000.

[17] This plan was stymied as Premier League rules prohibited players on schoolboy contracts from appearing at the senior level, and his debut was delayed.

[18] Fletcher was initially seen as a right midfielder, similar to David Beckham, and was tipped by many to break into the first-team with ease and stay there for many years to come.

[citation needed] Over the next couple of seasons, Fletcher's involvement was limited due to various injuries, including a broken foot.

Nevertheless, by the 2002–03 season, he had become a regular member of the reserve team, and after several appearances as an unused substitute, he finally made his first-team debut on 12 March 2003 – almost three years behind schedule – starting on the right side of midfield against Basel in the second group stage of the UEFA Champions League.

[25] Despite a slow start to the 2004–05 campaign, in which in the early part of the season he made very few competitive appearances, Fletcher again broke into the United first-team.

[26] Fletcher was one of the players singled out for criticism by club captain Roy Keane in the wake of United's 4–1 defeat to Middlesbrough in October 2005.

"[28] Fletcher went some way towards answering his critics on 6 November 2005, with his performance in the vital league match at home to Chelsea, scoring the only goal of the game with a looping header.

[32] As the season progressed, Alex Ferguson preferred the midfield quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs, limiting Fletcher to a few substitute appearances.

However, with Scholes absent through suspension, he made a starring appearance in United's 7–1 win over Roma in the Champions League quarter-final.

He did, however, put in some stalwart performances when given the chance, including two goals in the 4–0 defeat of Arsenal at Old Trafford in the FA Cup fourth round.

[43] Then-Inter Milan coach José Mourinho commented on his absence: "Fletcher is more important than people think ... he 'eats' opponents in defensive transition.

[45] On 21 November 2009, Fletcher scored his third of the season, hitting a half volley from the edge of the area into the top corner giving United a 1–0 lead against Everton in a 3–0 win.

[54] Fletcher made his first start of the 2011–12 season in United's first group stage match on 14 September 2011 in the Champions League away at Benfica, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

[55][56] This was Fletcher's first start for a number of months after being sidelined towards the end of the 2010–11 season with illness, revealed in December 2011 to be ulcerative colitis.

[59] On 23 October, he scored the consolation goal in a 6–1 defeat to local rivals Manchester City,[60] with a curling shot into the top corner.

[64] On 14 August 2012, Fletcher came on as a second-half substitute, taking the captain's armband, for Manchester United against Aberdeen in Neil Simpson's testimonial.

He played his first competitive match in ten months, coming on as a substitute for Paul Scholes in the 78th minute in Manchester United's 1–0 win over Galatasaray at Old Trafford in the Champions League.

The statement stressed that this was a "planned procedure undertaken at the optimal time" that required Fletcher to be in good health to be carried out.

[9] In his May 2013 retirement speech following his final match at Old Trafford as Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson wished Fletcher a speedy recovery and return to football.

[73] Between his debut for West Brom in February 2015 and the international break of October 2015, Fletcher did not miss a minute of Premier League football, marking fully his comeback from several illness-disrupted seasons.

[104] Fletcher usually played as central midfielder in a box-to-box role, where he stood out for his physicality, tenacity, intelligence, and work-rate, as well as his energy and defensive ability, namely his tackling and marking.

In 2009, Terry Butcher described Fletcher as a "complete midfielder, a rare all-rounder and although he's a slightly different player to Roy Keane, he can become as great."

While Fletcher was initially criticised in the media for his poor positional sense, a lack of creativity in his game, and his tendency to give possession away carelessly early on in his career, he underwent a technical and tactical development, which enabled him establish himself successfully in a deeper midfield role, from which he could dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield with his passing; his playing style in this position was influenced by one of his idols, Fernando Redondo.

[115] Fletcher was one of many footballers in the Manchester and Liverpool area whose homes were burgled while playing away games; burglars raided his house in February 2009 and held Grice at knifepoint.