Rooney's scan brought forward

Manchester United have brought forward England striker Wayne Rooney's next scan on his broken foot, warning the injury "involves a joint" and could take longer to heal than previously thought.
Originally scheduled for June 14, United and England have moved the scan to June 7 so that Rooney's fitness can be assessed before FIFA's June 9 deadline for replacing him in England's World Cup squad.
"Both parties agree that everything possible is being done to aid the recovery of the fracture, which involves the joint," United said in a statement.
"Following a meeting today between England's medical team and Manchester United's medical team, with both managers present, it has been agreed to obtain a further precautionary CT scan on June 7 in order for the England management to make a decision before the deadline of June 9."
Worryingly for England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson and his hopes of taking the 20-year-old striker to Germany, United also said on its website that 'involving the joint' meant: "an injury which takes longer to heal."
Eriksson, though, sought to play down the implications of United's statement about the fourth metatarsal of Rooney's right foot.
The Swede, who said United may still do a further scan on June 14, told a news conference that the switch "was my request, United understood the situation and accepted it.
"We will have a little bit better idea of the future."
As for the development affecting Rooney's World Cup chances, he said: "I'm always positive about it, optmistic...I'm not worried.
"I don't think it's a change at all. I was in the medical meeting today and I don't think it's anything new."
Rooney, who suffered the injury during United's Premier League defeat at Chelsea on April 29, is an inspirational figure for Eriksson's side.
FIFA rules state that Eriksson can replace him in the squad up to 24 hours before their opening World Cup game in Group B against Paraguay on June 10.
Bringing forward the scan means that if Rooney were to be ruled out of the finals, he could be replaced by a standby player, probably Jermain Defoe though possibly Andy Johnson.
Eriksson said he might take a standby player to Germany when the squad leave next Monday.
The England manager has always hoped that although recovering from injury, Rooney might be fit in time for the latter stages of the finals - assuming England get through the group stage.
After the Paraguayans, England go on to face Trinidad and Tobago and Eriksson's native Sweden.
Rooney's absence from the finals would be a major blow to England's hopes of winning their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

Ferdinand: England fine without Rooney

Defender Rio Ferdinand says England have the players to achieve World Cup success even if injured striker Wayne Rooney misses the finals.
Rooney's broken foot has dominated England's preparations for Germany and cast doubts on their chances of lifting the trophy for the first time since 1966.
Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, Ferdinand's team mates and the rest of the footballing nation are waiting for a scan Rooney will undergo on June 7 to see if he has a chance of playing any part in the tournament.
"At the moment, everyone is harping on about Wazza," Ferdinand told reporters on Tuesday, referring to Rooney. "In some respects rightly so because he's a fantastic player and an asset to the squad on and off the pitch."
But he added: "We feel as a squad, looking around the training field and the changing room, that we've got players who are more than capable of coming in and doing a fantastic job for the side. We definitely feel that."
Eriksson made it clear on Tuesday he was becoming fed up with the media circus surrounding Rooney's injury, though Ferdinand was more understanding.
"Wayne Rooney's a massive player and a massive story," said the Manchester United central defender, who should start at Old Trafford in Wednesday's friendly against Hungary.
"We know as players that that's going to be in the news and we respect that. But as a squad, it doesn't make us feel any less as players individually or collectively.
"When you look at this squad in detail, in terms of match winners, it has more than any I've been involved in before. We've got players who can drag a game by the scruff of the neck and win it for you at any time from normal play or a dead-ball situation.
"With Wayne that will be one extra, but without Wayne there's enough in there to do that."
Asked to name names, Ferdinand's first thought was Liverpool's talismanic captain Steven Gerrard, who scored two goals in their FA Cup final triumph over West Ham United earlier this month.
"Steven Gerrard - I was at the Cup final and it was great to see it was an Englishman who did it and that he's going to be in my squad when I go to the World Cup.
"Frank Lampard, 20 goals as a midfielder, you can't ask for much more, David Beckham and I haven't got to the forwards yet. Michael Owen - goalscorer, Joe Cole and Peter Crouch can score."
England will certainly need goals without Rooney as the 20-year-old striker is set to miss at least the Group B games, which start on June 11 against Paraguay.
United added to the worries of England fans on Monday by saying that Rooney's broken metatarsal involved the joint - "an injury which takes longer to heal."
Asked if the squad were reconciling themselves to Rooney missing the World Cup, Ferdinand said: "As a team we've just got confidence in the other players in the side.
"Wazza would be a great asset to any team in the world, we know that as individuals and as a team.
"We've got to wait on a medical decision. If he's going to be fit, he's going to be fit.
"But we've got to to prepare the squad to know that if he doesn't come, we're more than capable of going out there and doing a job for the country."

ROONEY OR NOT, ENGLAND A HOPE

PELE says England can reach the World Cup final even if striker Wayne Rooney fails to recover from injury.The Brazilian great, himself a triple World Cup winner, has told English fans not to despair before next month's finals in Germany, citing his own experience as proof that an injury to one player need not prevent a team from winning the trophy.
Rooney remains set to travel with the England squad. But the 20-year-old Manchester United forward is likely to miss most of England's group stage matches after breaking a foot bone just six weeks before the tournament.
"I think in the last four years, there is no doubt England have improved a lot," Pele said yesterday.
"In the last 10 years they have been the best organised team and have a good chance to get to the final, no doubt.
"Unfortunately for England they have a problem with Rooney having broken his foot. He is a fantastic player and is a big loss for England.
"This is a big problem, but even without him I think England are a very strong team for this World Cup."
Pele burst on to the international stage in Sweden in 1958, when he starred in Brazil's first World Cup win at the age of 17. Four years later he was a member of the squad that defended the trophy in Chile before taking a leading role in the 1970 World Cup-winning team in Mexico.
But Pele had plenty of injury setbacks along the way. His semi-final hat-trick and goal double in 1958 came after a knee injury had ruled him out of the opening games. In Chile a groin problem limited him to just two appearances.
It is no surprise that former forward Pele, now 65, backs England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson in the Swede's decision to take Rooney with him to Germany.
"I think it is (right) because it will give confidence to the team. If the doctor thinks he can be recalled, I think it is good. It makes sense for the team and the group," he said.
"In my first World Cup I did not play the first games in Sweden because I was injured. But then I came in and the same could happen to Rooney."
English defender Jamie Carragher said yesterday his team must be ready to repeat Liverpool's FA Cup final heroics to progress at the World Cup.
In one of the FA Cup's greatest finals, Liverpool twice came from behind to snatch a 3-3 draw with West Ham United before its exhausted players won a penalty shootout last weekend.
"The FA Cup is every year and the World Cup is every four years, but who knows when you're going to be in an FA Cup final again?" he said.
"In a World Cup game, if there's 20 minutes to go and the score's not going right, you know it could be another four years (to wait) - and some players may never get the chance again."

AN ADIVICE FROM THE BEST

Pele has warned England striker Wayne Rooney he must not believe the hype surrounding himself if he wants to fulfil his potential.The Brazilian superstar, who scored more than 1,000 goals during an illustrious career, is an admirer of Rooney but warned the Manchester United youngster he must keep his feet on the ground.He told Four Four Two magazine: “It’s hard to give advice but I have one thing that my father told me. He said: ‘When you’re young and you first appear, everybody says you’re the best. But if you start to think this is true, you get lost’.“So my advice is to forget about whether people say you’re good or not. Be yourself, be prepared, because in the World Cup you’ve got to be prepared, but never, never think you’re good.“Always think you can learn, that you can get better. This is my advice to Wayne Rooney.”

IT IS ASKING TOO MUCH FROM GERRARD TO PLAY ROONEY ROLE

Even before Steven Gerrard had drawn breath, much less regained feeling in his battered legs, the national Press were piling unsustainable pressure on the England midfielder's shoulders.
Suddenly, after a mentally and physically disabling FA Cup final we could forget about Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen (and the rest of the national team).
Gerrard would capture the tournament on his own, winning every tackle, creating and scoring all the goals, and leading a one-man lap of honour at the end of it all.
That's what happens when the media - or the London arm of it, anyway - have hysterics.They lose what little sense they own and make one player the sole hope of a nation.
Only the permanently befuddled - at least half the Press pack on this evidence - will follow this inane line of reasoning
Gerrard undoubtedly is a world-class player. But we didn't need Cardiff to tell us that.
And a little commonsense might have warned us away from a populist bandwagon whose spinning wheels might end up pinningGerrard - and our hopes - to the ground.
For the moment, national sportswriters can happily dream about Gerrard's ability to win England the World Cup.

Injured Rooney a World Cup doubt

Wayne Rooney is a doubt for the World Cup after fracturing a metatarsal bone in his right foot during Manchester United's 3-0 defeat at Chelsea.
The 20-year-old striker has been told he may be out for six weeks, exactly the amount of time until England's first game against Paraguay on 10 June.
He was carried off after an innocuous challenge by Chelsea's Paulo Ferreira.
England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson will name his provisional World Cup squad on 8 May and his definitive one by 15 May.

Under Fifa rules, coaches can replace players injured after the 15 May deadline, but not those hurt before.
The Swede has previously said he would gamble on Rooney's fitness - even if there was only a small chance of him being fit for the tournament.
The England coach said in March: "If Rooney has a small problem, would you still take him? What alternative do you have?
"If you have a centre-half who might not be ready you can take another one but can you find another Rooney?"
United issued a statement on their website regarding the injury on Saturday evening.
It read: "Wayne Rooney has a fracture of the base of the fourth metatarsal on his right foot. He will be out for six weeks."

Sports injury expert Roger Roberton said Rooney can forget about playing in England's first two matches at the World Cup.
"I'd doubt very much if he makes the first game or even the second game," Roberton told BBC Radio Five Live.
"I would say seven weeks. From five weeks onwards just build up the exercise and see how it goes.
"Obviously England will have machines in Germany to monitor it, to see if there is any damage being caused through exercise.
"They have to build it up from about four or five weeks and then see how it goes."
The youngster is seen as an integral part of England's bid to win the World Cup in Germany.
He broke a bone in the same foot during England's quarter-final defeat by Portugal in Euro 2004.

Devastated For Rooney

I was absolutely devastated last Saturday evening when the news came through about Wayne Rooney’s broken foot.You want to see the best players in the world playing at the World Cup and Wayne is part of that group. Sir Alex Ferguson might not appreciate me saying this, but if I were Sven Goran Eriksson I’d definitely take Wayne to Germany. I really believe it’s worth the risk with a player of his calibre. I was convinced England would win the World Cup but now I’m not so sure. Nevertheless, if we can’t get through the group stages without Wayne we don’t deserve to win it. Hopefully England can get themselves to the quarter-finals and Wayne can then play some part in the latter stages of the competition.