The Hindu : Sport / Football : Rooney ruled out of early stages

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Saturday, May 27, 2006

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Sport - Football

Rooney ruled out of early stages

Wayne Rooney. — FILE PHOTO: AP

LONDON : Wayne Rooney will travel with England to the World Cup despite being told that he will be unable to resume full training before June 14 at the earliest, four days after his country's opening match.

A scan on the Manchester United forward's broken foot confirmed the initial prognosis that he would need around six weeks to recover from the time he suffered the injury, playing against Chelsea on April 24.

But United said in a statement on Friday that the player would only be given a green light to resume playing depending on the results of another scan the club has scheduled for June 14, in Manchester.

If that examination confirms a full recovery, Rooney could still be available to play for England in the knockout stages of the tournament and head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson confirmed that he would take the player to Germany on that basis.

``This is very encouraging news,'' Eriksson said. ``I'm looking forward to Wayne joining up with the rest of the squad on Sunday. The fact that he is flying out to Germany with us will give everyone a huge lift.''

The Swede added: ``I spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson and we had a really good conversation. Despite all the speculation, there has been a very positive dialogue with Manchester United all along.

``We are very grateful for the support that they have given Wayne and the England team.

``We're still hoping that the second scan will show further improvement and that Wayne can play his part in the World Cup.''

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Scott Carson was called up to England's squad following an injury to Robert Green. The 20-year-old Carson, Liverpool's third-choice goalkeeper, was promoted from the standby list after Green injured his groin in England's unofficial `B' international against Belarus on Thursday. — Agencies

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