 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   |  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Rooney boost ahead of crucial scan
 Rooney will have a scan in Manchester on Wednesday. BUHLERTAL, Germany -- Striker Wayne Rooney, whose chances of playing at the World Cup hinge on a scan on Wednesday, joined his England team-mates in a training session in Germany on Tuesday. Rooney, who broke his foot on April 29, took part in the first 20 minutes of the session at the England training base near Baden Baden. The 20-year-old Manchester United forward then did a mixture of running, sprinting and ball work on his own with fitness coach Ivan Carminati. Rooney will have a scan on his foot in Manchester on Wednesday. SPECIAL REPORTCoach Sven-Goran Eriksson, whose side open their Group B campaign on Saturday against Paraguay, has been doggedly optimistic that Rooney can play some part in the finals. But the Swede remained cautious on Tuesday. "I think there's been said so much about Rooney, let's wait until tomorrow afternoon or Thursday morning," Eriksson said. "I think he looks very good. I don't really have any other news about him. Let's wait as, very soon, we will know what is going to happen about him. "He looks okay, very good I would say, but let the surgeons and specialists have their say tomorrow. He's good and that's it." Eriksson said he hoped to receive the verdict on Rooney's fitness by Thursday, again stressing that the decision was in the hands of the doctors. "Thursday morning, maybe at the latest, I suppose. I know it's big news and he's a big football player but let's wait until tomorrow. "It's totally up to the surgeons, specialists and doctors," he said. "I always told you he will take part in the World Cup and I still believe it - very, very strongly." Scissor-kickPictures of Rooney unleashing a flying scissor-kick with his injured right foot dominated newspapers in Britain on Tuesday, triggering a surge of optimism that the Manchester United player may be passed fit to remain with the squad. Several quoted unnamed sources in the England camp as saying Rooney may even be on the bench for the team's final group game against Sweden on June 20, though the later knockout rounds are a more realistic target. The Sun claimed that Alex Ferguson was furious at learning of Rooney's exploits, without quoting the Manchester United manager directly. Ferguson has reportedly been concerned about his young prodigy suffering a long-term injury if he is brought back into action too soon. Left-back Ashley Cole, who is nursing a hamstring problem that forced him off during the first half of Saturday's 6-0 friendly win over Jamaica, also worked separately from the squad. The FA said that Cole was expected to be fit to face Paraguay in Frankfurt on Saturday. Three players who missed Monday's final training session in England took part in their first workout in Germany - defenders Gary Neville and John Terry and captain David Beckham -- though Beckham later sat out the training match. Terry suffered a scare when going down heavily under a tackle from Wayne Bridge but was moving freely once again by the end of the session. Mixed emotionsParaguay lost one striker but had good news about another on Tuesday when Jose Cardozo pulled out of their World Cup squad through injury, while Roque Santa Cruz was declared fit to face England on Saturday. Cardozo, 35, the all-time top scorer for his country, suffered a torn thigh muscle and was ruled out of action for three weeks by the Paraguayan doctor Osvaldo Pangrazio. Coach Anibal Ruiz called up Dante Lopez, 22, who plays for Genoa in Italy, as his replacement. He was expected to join the squad late on Tuesday evening. Cardozo, a veteran of Paraguay's last two World Cup campaigns in France and Korea, said the injury had shattered his dreams. "I had hoped to play in these finals and then retire from international football after the World Cup," he said. "It is very sad for me." Ruiz, the Uruguayan-born coach who has breathed new life into Paraguay, said the loss of Cardozo was a blow, but that the availability of Santa Cruz was very important. "He is fit to play and he has no problems," he said, after a training session on Tuesday evening during which the squad practiced defending set-pieces in anticipation of an aerial attack from England in Frankfurt in their opening Group B fixture. Santa Cruz said: "I am looking forward to this game. England are a very strong team with great players, but we believe in ourselves and we have worked hard and prepared well." He said he felt entirely recovered from the tendinitis in his knee which had bothered him in recent weeks. "I am fit and we are ready to do our best against England," he said. "We want to make our country proud of the team." 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
