Louis Saha is facing a test of his priorities at Manchester United after another aborted comeback attempt at the weekend. The injury-troubled forward has severely tested Sir Alex Ferguson’s patience, having started only one Barclays Premier League match since January 1, and there is concern behind the scenes at Old Trafford over the possibility of a call-up to the France squad next week for their European Championship qualifying matches against Italy and Scotland.

Saha, who underwent a knee operation in June, was expected to be among United’s substitutes against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, having trained well all week, but he was withdrawn from the squad at a late stage. Ferguson insisted afterwards that the 29-year-old would be fit to play against Sunderland this Saturday, but United are worried about the prospect of letting the player join up with France, given that he has previously suffered injuries while on international duty.

Ferguson was unhappy with Saha’s unwillingness to push himself through the rehabilitation process late last season, particularly after he pulled out of a match away to Everton at a critical stage in the title race, and, while the manager now appears happy to take a more cautious approach, others are running out of patience.

Speaking on MUTV after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham, Lou Macari, the former United player, described news of Saha’s withdrawal as “farcical”, adding that “until he makes that first move, he’s always going to be behind in fitness and in playing games”.

Meanwhile, Fabio and Rafael Silva, the 17-year-old Brazilian twins, have revealed that they hope to complete their move to Old Trafford in January. United secured a double deal to sign the two attacking full backs from Fluminense in May 2006, initially with a view to them moving to Manchester next summer, but the twins, who have been in spectacular form in the Under17 World Cup tournament that began in Korea last week, hope to be given clearance to complete their joint transfer in January.

“We might be going across in January, but we’re not sure,” Rafael said. “We’ve already started to learn a little bit of English and we’re really looking forward to it. We’re also looking forward to playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. We met him and he said it would be good for us to join the club.”