Sir Alex Ferguson has sung the praises of Manchester United’s Brazilian twins, Rafael and Fabio Da Silva, and hopes that the injuries which have seen them miss so much of the season so far will become more infrequent the older they get.

“The two of them are terrific talents,” said Ferguson. “But they keep getting injuries, the kids are always getting them. I’m hoping that maturity eradicates all these things they have but it’s all different types of injuries you know. They’re so sturdy. They’re strong boys but, possibly, they’re a wee bit optimistic in terms of the challenges they make. They always put a foot in, in terms of attacking-wise, and are always getting injured going into attacking moves. The boys just don’t see danger. Bryan Robson was that way too, ‘Bang, on they go’. They’re only 21, you know, they’re young. You forget they were in the team as teenagers. I think both of them could play right-back [in the long-term]. There’s nothing between the two of them really. They are both excellent talents and really positive players. It’s what I love about them. They don’t have an inkling of fear in the way they play at all. They’ve always been really positive lads and it’s the Brazilian nature.”