England in shock over Rooney injury

By Dominik Lauck Apr 30, 2006, 12:35 GMT

London - England was in shock Sunday over a fractured foot injury of star striker Wayne Rooney which heavily endangers his participation at the World Cup and with it all possible title dreams.

'England holds its breath as talismanic Rooney joins World Cup casualty list,' said the front page headline of The Observer.

The Manchester United marksman Rooney has been ruled out for six weeks, this period ending on June 10 when England play their first match at the World Cup in Germany against Paraguay, with games against Sweden and Trinidad and Tobago to follow.

Rooney, 20, fractured the fourth metatarsal bone in his right foot during United's 3-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday.

The entire stadium held its breath when Rooney was taken off on a stretcher, with Chelsea's England player Joe Cole revealing later he thought 'Please, not Wayne' when the incident occurred.

England coach Sven Goran Eriksson now faces the difficult decision whether to nominate Rooney into his 23-player squad on May 15. Players who are injured by the time of the nomination cannot be replaced on the squad if they don't regain their fitness.

'Roo's out' said the Sunday Mirror headline while the News of the World simply asked football fans to 'Pray.'

The Observer summed up how big Rooney's loss will be.

'If Rooney cannot play in Germany, his absence will seriously diminish England's chances of capturing the World Cup for the first time in 40 years.

'Bookmakers have made them second favourites behind holders Brazil, but without the talismanic Rooney they would lack much of their creativity, attacking prowess and capacity to surprise opponents,' The Observer said.

Former England coach Bobby Robson, in an interview with the BBC, agreed.

'The news about Wayne is depressingly sad. You cannot replace Rooney. I don't think there's another player like him in the country or in Europe. He's a very special player and without him our chances are dim,' Robson said.

'People who win World Cups are top individuals. Who won the World Cup for Argentina in 1986? I'll tell you - it was Diego Maradona.'

Rooney fractured another metatarsal bone in the same foot at Euro 2004.

His fate now reminds many of that of team captain David Beckham ahead of the 2002 World Cup. Beckham broke his fifth metatarsal bone two months ahead of the tournament and later admitted he was not fit at all during the World Cup even though he could play.

The only good news for Eriksson on Sunday was that his other key striker, Michael Owen, has not re-aggravated a similar injury in his comeback match Saturday.

The Newcastle forward complained about pain after the game, but medical examinations revealed no damage and doctors said that some pain was quite possible in the first games.