This even if the latest medical bulletin on the day gives him very little hope of recovering from his wrist injury in time for the September battle.

Why? Because Faldo would be giving himself three extra weeks to look, not just at whether Donald, beaten only once in seven Ryder Cup matches so far in his career, can show he is over the injury, but also how others are playing.

That way he could make his final decision just before the start of the action in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 19 rather than at Gleneagles, Scotland, on August 31.

It has to make sense.

Imagine if someone Faldo was close to picking wins the European Masters in Switzerland and/or the German Masters the following two weeks.

Or, indeed, imagine Donald "giving it a go" in either of those events, having just been omitted from the team, and performing like Padraig Harrington did in The Open straight after a wrist problem made him doubtful.

Faldo's opposite number Paul Azinger could hardly object to that because he has changed the American system to allow himself to study form for far longer than was previously the case.

Two years ago it was August 20 when Tom Lehman discovered the 10 players who had automatically earned selection for his side and August 21 when he added Stewart Cink and Scott Verplank.

Yet the match at The K Club in Ireland was not starting until September 22.

Azinger saw the folly of that, so after the end of their points race this time on August 10 he is waiting until September 2 to add his wild cards - and there will be four of them instead of two because he places such importance on who is hot and who is not.

Last Monday night, Faldo painted a totally gloomy picture of Donald's chances of earning a third cap.

"Luke has been emailing and texting me often, but he can't help putting a bit of a negative on it," he said. "He would need to be a pick and to pick a man who is injured would be a tough call.

"He's going to try to get some physio for the next month and to avoid surgery, but it's a big setback for him. I feel for him - he's like someone training for the Olympics and having to pull out with an injury beforehand.

"In his own words, it's looking very doubtful. It's a tough ask to pick a guy who hasn't played for three months or so. The fear is his wrist could go at any time."

Donald, though, told his club manufacturer's website: "Surgery is an option, but I think therapy is the most sensible route for me.

"I'm hopeful I might have a chance to make myself available for Valhalla, but it's still too early to say.

"Obviously I hope he [Faldo] keeps me in mind. He'll be the first person to know if the wrist improves."

Eleven years ago a wrist injury to Spaniard Miguel Angel Martin threw the build-up to the match at Valderrama into turmoil.

Martin had been out of action much of the summer, but had done enough in the preceding months to qualify automatically.

However, that top 10 did not include Faldo, Jose Maria Olazabal and Jesper Parnevik, and Ballesteros, wanting them all to play rather than someone hampered by injury, controversially got his way.

Martin was told he had to prove his fitness by playing 18 holes at Valderrama, refused, was dropped and was replaced by the next man in the points table - Olazabal - thus allowing Ballesteros to award his wild cards to Faldo and Parnevik.

"The Ryder Cup Committee and the captain have agreed that currently there is an indisputable presumption that even if Miguel Angel was fit to play in the matches, which is in doubt, that he cannot be competitive at Ryder Cup level," spokesman Mitchell Platts said at the time.

"The proposal of Miguel Angel playing 18 holes (at Valderrama three weeks before the match) was intended to give him every opportunity of countering this presumption."

Martin, who had surgery on the wrist in August, called that "barbarous" and threatened legal action, then Ballesteros came out with these words: "He was not welcome before - do you think he will be welcome now?

"That little man? He can't stop the Ryder Cup. Lawyers can only do so much. He's like a machine-gunner shooting in all directions. He is trying to be a hero for a week. We would be out of our minds to change the decision."

He also labelled Martin "kamikaze" and "a squarehead", but the situation was eventually settled in the week of the match with Martin being pictured alongside the 12 who did play and then heading them home.

The episode reflected badly on Ballesteros and the cup committee for the way they treated a player who had qualified and surely therefore had earned the right to be given every chance.

Donald will probably not earn the right this time because of where he is in the points race. But if Faldo wants him, why not wait as long as possible to see if he can make it?