Rooney can play after group games

Baden Baden (Germany): Injured England striker Wayne Rooney has a good chance of being fit to play after their World Cup group matches, his club Manchester United said late on Wednesday.

"The expert independent medical view is that Wayne has a good chance of being fit after the group stage," the Premier League club said in a very cautious statement on their website overnight.

"At that point, the expert independent medical view is that his participation in the tournament will require very careful assessment in order to address his suitability, as he will not have had the opportunity to play in less demanding games."

Rooney returned to England's training base at Baden Baden after flying out earlier on Wednesday to undergo a scan at a private hospital in Whalley Range, Manchester.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson will clearly be relieved that the 20-year-old striker, seen by many as England's best player, has not been ruled out of the finals.

However, the heavily qualified verdict from the experts will be something the Swede will have noted. Rooney will play no part in the Group B matches, which start on Saturday against Paraguay, continue against Trinidad & Tobago and finish against Sweden on June 20.

United, who paid close to 30 million pounds ($55.81 million) for Rooney in August 2004 and have their eyes firmly on next season, will also want a clean bill of health for the second round.

That match, in which tackles would be flying in as the tournament stakes rose, would be on June 24 or June 25, depending on whether England finished top of the group or runners-up.

The potential for a conflict of interest between England and United, which British newspapers speculated on Thursday had already broken out, is clear.

United, owned by the Glazer family after an 800 million pounds takeover last year, will want Rooney to be fully fit to start the next Premier League and Champions League season.

However, Rooney's value to England is enormous because his surging runs and ferocious shooting from any distance make him a potential tournament winner - as he showed as a teenager at Euro 2004.

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His four goals in the group phase in Portugal fired England to a place in the quarterfinals, only for the striker to limp out of the early stages of their game against the host nation with a broken bone in his foot.

England subsequently lost in a penalty shootout, an ominous sign for their World Cup hopes after his similar injury on April 29 against Chelsea in a league game.

Morale among the England players is certain to be lifted by Rooney's return. Speaking to reporters earlier on Wednesday, defender John Terry said: "I think such an important player will be a boost. We're all waiting and hoping that he does come back."

Midfielder and Chelsea teammate Frank Lampard shared that view, saying: "It would be a lift. A player of Wayne Rooney's quality would get into any team in the world. So we want him to be fit and we hope he is."

The only loser will be standby striker Jermain Defoe, who is now set to leave. Eriksson had until 24 hours before the Paraguay game to replace Rooney in the squad.