Tale of two Fletchers: Darren has a chance but Steven rift unresolved

The Manchester United midfielder announced last month that he is taking a break from football to try and recover from the bowel condition ulcerative collitis. Fletcher had been plagued by the illness for nearly four years but had generally been able to play through it until last year when his playing time became much-reduced. When the full extent of his predicament was first made public, fears were raised that the 27-year-old may struggle to make a full recovery, but Levein, speaking to BBC Scotland, revealed that his captain’s situation is likely to be assessed early in the spring after he has had a full period of rest.

If there are signs of recovery, Scotland’s opening World Cup qualifying double-header against Serbia and Macedonia in Glasgow could yet be a possibility for the Midlothian-born midfielder. “He’s out for four months’ complete rest, and then we can reassess things,” Levein said. “I’d be desperately hoping [to have him for the qualifiers].

“He’s been pushing himself and he’s really suffering it this time. He’s had this for nearly four years now. He’s been pushing himself and he’s really suffering it this time. It’s just quite remarkable how he’s managed [to play with the condition].

“He desperately wants to play every single match – probably to the detriment of his health. He’s just a fantastic example of fortitude and desire to his team-mates. He becomes such an important player for us, not just on the field, but as an example by the way he behaves himself off the park and his attitude. Him being out is a huge loss in terms of both his performances and the influence he has on the rest of the group.”

While Levein waxed lyrical about the attitude of his stricken captain, the situation surrounding another Fletcher who hasn’t been quite so wholehearted in his desire to play for Scotland was also up for discussion – that of Steven, the in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers striker. Levein admits he would ideally like to have the former Hibs striker available for selection, but insists that he is no closer to resolving an impasse which has been ongoing for almost a year.

The 24-year-old rejected a call-up for the Carling Nations Cup match against Northern Ireland last February after being left in the stand for the Euro 2012 qualifier in the Czech Republic in October 2010 and then omitted from the squad altogether for a friendly against the Faroe Isles the following month. Levein’s initial lack of desire to field Fletcher appears to stem from a lacklustre performance the Wolves forward produced in the 3-0 friendly defeat in Sweden a year past August.

Fletcher’s form for his club in England’s Premier League since the rift first emerged has cranked up the pressure on Levein to resolve the dispute, with the striker having already scored eight goals this season to establish himself as the most high-profile forward currently available to Scotland. The manager insists he is open to the idea of restoring Fletcher to his squad for the World Cup qualifiers, but only once the player officially makes it known to him that he wants to be selected. “As soon as he indicates to me he wants to play for Scotland then I’ll consider him. It’s as simple as that,” said Levein. “The rules are there for everybody. It might be that he doesn’t want to play for me. I don’t know because I haven’t had a conversation with him.

“All the correspondence I’ve had with him is that he doesn’t want to play for Scotland, so until he tells me otherwise that’s all I’m assuming, and until he indicates he wants to play for Scotland then things will stay as they are.”