'LOUIS Saha is one match away from making a century of appearances for United, but the odds are lengthening on the French striker ever reaching that milestone.
Sir Alex Ferguson must now be seriously considering more than one transfer swoop in the summer to strengthen his attack as Saha's unreliable appearance record begins to hack off the Reds boss.
Fergie has tracked hitmen such as Atletico Madrid's Fernando Torres and Klaas Jan Huntelaar at Ajax, and he has also been linked with Michael Owen at Newcastle.
He has £18m earmarked for midfielder Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich and a probable £8m on its way to Southampton for teenage Welsh full-back Gareth Bale.
One striker was set to be the target for chief executive David Gill to pursue in the close season, but Saha's injury situation is set to force the Reds to dig even deeper into the Glazers' pockets to fund a double swoop.
Ferguson's patience with Saha during an injury curse which has blighted the 28-year-old's time at Old Trafford has been commendable.
The United manager's tolerance looked to have paid off this season as Saha hit the ground running following the summer sale of Ruud van Nistelrooy, knocking in 11 goals by early December.
Those strikes added up to a 2006 calendar year haul of 23. His injury nightmare appeared to be history.
It prompted United to extend the Parisian's contract before Christmas to keep him at the club until 2010.
But since the deal was signed, Saha's appearance graph has plummeted alarmingly again.
He has made just four starts in 2007 and seven appearances as a sub, scoring once.
It has left United short up front, and Fergie had to swoop in the January transfer window to bring Henrik Larsson on loan from Helsingborg to cover the crisis.
The Swede has come and gone, but Saha is still a regular in the treatment room as a hamstring problem he picked up in March continues to keep him off Fergie's list of players available for selection.
Now it seems that the admirable patience of the United boss has worn thin - if it hasn't snapped altogether - with the player dubbed `Balsa Man' by one United fanzine because of his flimsy resistance.
When Fergie was asked after Tuesday night's match against Sheffield United when Saha would be fit, the manager's exasperated and resigned "I don't know" response said it all.
And that makes the long term for Saha look bleak.
It looked as if Fergie had reconciled himself to the fact that Saha's fitness is a mystery and that he won't be banking on being able to use the Frenchman for United's run-in.
Saha has been riddled with fitness problems since his £12.8m move from Fulham in January 2004.
Those problems, which included a 12-month battle with knee troubles, have seen him appear in only 53 per cent of the Reds matches since moving from Craven Cottage.
He is stuck on that 99-appearance mark after three-and-a-half years at the club.
Compare that to Wayne Rooney, who clocked up his century in two years.
It's a depressing figure for Saha, and a frustrating one for player and club, as his Fulham appearance record never suggested that United were gambling when they shelled out for him.
Fergie has stuck by injury-stricken players in the past, notably Roy Keane and Ole Solskjaer, allowing them time to return. But theirs were serious problems that needed patience.
The nature of Saha's persistent niggles and apparent extended time out for run-of-the-mill injuries suggests that he can now no longer rely on the manager's tolerance.
It is a sad state of affairs for a likeable player, who on his day is a quality goalscorer at any level. Unfortunately, those days have been overwhelmed by weeks spent in the medical room.
Whether Louis Saha will get a chance to prove he can overcome the blight and last the distance is becoming increasingly uncertain.
The man who helped put the Reds in the driving seat in the Premiership back in autumn and early winter must now be wondering if he will be off-loaded when United's destination is reached this campaign.'
