Sir Alex Ferguson hinted yesterday at a new level of understanding over Louis Saha’s injury problems, which have consigned him to spend another FA Cup Final day on the sidelines, but the France forward is aware that his future at Manchester United will hinge on talks next week, when he hopes that his position at Old Trafford will be secured.

Saha has no desire to leave United, where he signed a new 3½-year contract as recently as December, but he has been left fretting about his future in recent weeks, with Ferguson dissatisfied by the player’s cautious approach to his rehabilitation from hamstring and knee injuries. The latter means that the 28-year-old will play no part in Saturday’s final against Chelsea – the fourth time he has missed a final, having done so in 1999, 2004 (when he was cup-tied after his move to United from Fulham) and 2005 – but, with a scan confirming that the injury is more serious than United’s medical staff thought, he received a public vote of confidence yesterday.

“It happens in football that sometimes a player gets a lot of injuries and you can’t apportion blame in any sense of the word,” Ferguson said. “Louis is the type who is built for speed and therefore over the years he has had hamstring problems. If you look at his record over the years he has had injuries and we were aware of that when we signed him.

“But he is such a fantastic striker we took that chance and in some ways we’re pleased at that because he has made a good contribution when he has been available. He has been a marvellous player for us, so we just accept it is part of the game.”

However, Saha is not certain of his place at Old Trafford next season, with Ferguson exploring the possibility of signing a striker such as Samuel Eto’o from Barcelona, Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham Hotspur or Michael Owen, another prone to hamstring injuries, from Newcastle United. A planned conversation next week between Ferguson and Saha’s agent, Ranko Stojic, should make his future clearer.

Ferguson is dreading the prospect of Saturday’s match going to penalty shoot-out, having lost the 2005 final to Arsenal in similar circumstances. “If you look at my record in penalty shoot-outs, it’s diabolical, so I won’t be looking for penalties,” the manager said.

0 - Wins for United in three penalty shoot-outs under Ferguson, excluding the Community Shield