Sven-Goran Eriksson admits he is taking Wayne Rooney to Germany on Monday as a message of defiance.

Eriksson wants injured striker Rooney to join the squad when they fly to their World Cup base in the Black Forest on Monday.

The Manchester United star will check into the team hotel and then return to England, two days later, for a crucial scan on his broken foot.

The logic of Rooney jetting-off on a 1,200-mile round trip to Germany and back has been questioned but the England boss explained his reasoning.

Eriksson said: "It's important to have him. It would have sent a very bad message to all England fans not to have him on that plane.

"A flight of one and a half hours? It's like going from central London to see Charlton play and back. It can't be a problem.

"He's not going over an ocean or something like that."

Eriksson admits Rooney's injury has created enormous repercussions for his World Cup planning.

The United striker was the most difficult player to replace in what was a settled England team.

It has led to a series of hasty experiments by Eriksson as he tries different players in different formations in a bid to find the right balance.

Steven Gerrard was pushed forward into a Rooney-style role against Hungary yesterday.

Owen Hargreaves and Jamie Carragher were also tested in a midfield holding role as England won 3-1.

Eriksson said: "Wayne Rooney got injured late and I didn't have the possibility to do it before.

"If we choose to play this, it will work for sure.

"The players were absolutely happy to play like that.

"I think they were comfortable. It was not a problem and we needed to see it."

Eriksson will look at other options against Jamaica on Saturday in his final warm-up match before the World Cup starts.

England have until June 9 to decide whether or not to withdraw Rooney from the squad and replace him with one of the stand-by players.

The first game of their World Cup campaign is against Paraguay on June 10.

England's team doctors will have to inform FIFA by May 30 if they expect Wayne Rooney to recover in time to take part in the World Cup.

Rooney is having an MRI scan on Thursday to determine the progress of his recovery from his metatarsal injury.

Once the results of the scan are known, Manchester United's assistant team doctor Tony Gill - who has taken over Rooney's care following the abrupt departure of Mike Stone - will liaise with England medical staff.

England team doctor Leif Sward will then have to inform FIFA by Tuesday that he expects all the players in the squad will be mentally and physically fit to play in the finals.

FIFA's chief medical officer Dr Jiri Dvorak said: "Each team physician have to confirm by May 30 that their players are physically and mentally fit to participate in the World Cup.

"If Wayne Rooney is on the list then that is in principle confirmation that it is anticipated he will have recovered in time to participate in the tournament."

Every player has to have a range of medical tests including heart monitoring and be signed off by the national team doctor.

FIFA say they view this as a statement of intent that a player will be available to take part in the tournament although if Rooney broke down again Sven-Goran Eriksson would have until June 9 to replace him in the squad.

Meanwhile, the departure of Stone from Manchester United remains unclear beyond the fact that he had a major bust-up with Sir Alex Ferguson.

Stone has had his employment with United terminated with immediate effect but club officials insist his departure has nothing to do with Rooney's recovery from the broken metatarsal he suffered at Chelsea last month.

Given the cautious tone he adopted over the 20-year-old's chances of playing in Germany this summer, Ferguson has presumably grown increasingly unhappy at the number of positive bulletins being released on Rooney's condition.

Although most of the statements have been attributed to the England doctor Sward, Stone has been liaising closely with the Swede.

Given the importance to United of Rooney being fit for the start of next season, it would be understandable if Ferguson found the present upbeat mood irritating, possibly triggering an argument over an unrelated matter which led to confirmation of Stone's departure in a club statement.

"We can confirm Dr Stone has left the club," read the statement from United.

"There was a difference of opinion on a non-footballing and non-clinical issue, as a result of which Dr Stone felt it to be in his and the club's best interests for him to leave.

"The difference was over a non-clinical issue and had nothing whatsoever to do with any medical treatment to a Manchester United player."

The dismissal has been greeted with shock and some sense of sadness within Red Devils circles, where Stone has been a popular figure among both players and staff since his arrival in 1999.

Senior figures at the club - including Ferguson - stood by Stone over the Rio Ferdinand missed drugs test fiasco in 2003, when he elected to try to get a message to the defender that he was required for to take a test rather than ensure he attended it personally.

The loyalty shown at that time only makes his exit even more of a shock.

Former England World Cup star John Barnes insists there is no point fretting over the fitness of Wayne Rooney.

It is still unclear whether the Manchester United striker will be able to pull on an England shirt in Germany after breaking a foot in his metatarsal against Chelsea last month.

England manager Sven-Eriksson remains hopeful and handed Rooney the number nine shirt as his 23-man squad flew out for practice sessions in Portugal.

But for former Liverpool star Barnes, who played in the 1986 and 1990 finals, an England team without Rooney would still stand a chance of lifting the World Cup.

Barnes said: "If you focus on individuals and they don't perform or get injured then immediately it is all doom and gloom.

"We can win with Rooney, we can win without Rooney. With Rooney we could also lose but the most important thing is the team.

"That is Brazil's strength as, as much as they have great individual players, the team is the real star.

"The Brazilian public and the Brazilian fans, regardless of whether Ronaldinho is there or not, they expect the team to perform.

"We should be the same because we have great individual players. The squad is strong enough to make sure that whichever 11 goes out there it should be capable of playing well.

"Is Wayne Rooney that much better than Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, David Beckham, Joe Cole or Michael Owen? He's not.

"It would be better with him but not all doom and gloom if he doesn't make it."

Barnes hopes England can end a 40-year barren spell but insists holders Brazil remain the team to beat.

He said: "We all want England to do well but Brazil will be the favourites. If Brazil do get knocked out by whoever I would make England second favourites.

"I can't see any dark horses winning it but if Brazil go out early then that opens the door for England, Argentina, Holland, Italy and Spain. If Spain go on to win it how much of a surprise would that be?

"As far as getting to the quarter-finals, the USA could be a good outside bet for that."

Barnes was speaking at the launch of a 250-mile charity dribble to raise money for UNICEF, the international development organisation.

Fifty volunteers are kicking a ball from London to Manchester ahead of a celebrity football match between England and the Rest of the World, at Old Trafford on May 27.

Sven-Goran Eriksson has declared his intention to keep Wayne Rooney in his World Cup plans until he is told for definite the Manchester United striker cannot play.

Rooney is currently spending two punishing sessions a day in an oxygen chamber in a bid to recover from the broken metatarsal he suffered at Stamford Bridge 10 days ago. Sir Alex Ferguson has pledged the club will do everything possible to get Rooney to Germany but suggested it was a 'forlorn' hope.

And, despite naming Jermain Defoe and Crystal Palace's Andy Johnson on his stand-by list, Eriksson has vowed Rooney will not be pushed out until there is no hope at all. He said: "It would be absolutely crazy of me not to pick Wayne when there was still a chance of him being able to play. I could never justify that."

He added: "Wayne will remain in the squad until I know for sure he cannot play, which I hope will not happen."

Rooney is due for a scan in around two weeks time which will determine the extent of his recovery, and from that whether he will remain part of England's squad for the duration of the tournament.

"Before that scan is done, we have no idea whether he will be there or not," said Eriksson, who confirmed he would have named one striker fewer in his squad had there not been such a major doubt over his talisman.

"I include Joe Cole among my five strikers," he said. "Maybe if Wayne had been fit we would have chosen one less.

"I know there are other injured players, such as Ledley King, who I have not chosen. But we are well covered in the central defensive area whereas I would bet anyone that if they were in my position, they would have chosen Wayne.

"I would not have been doing a very good job if I hadn't."

England striker Wayne Rooney will sleep in an oxygen tent to boost his chances of recovering from a foot injury in time for the World Cup, the Sun reported.

The 20-year-old broke the fourth metatarsal of his right foot following a challenge by Paulo Ferreira in Manchester United's 3-0 loss at Chelsea on April 29. He will be out for six weeks, until about the time the World Cup starts on June 9.

The 12-by-8-foot tent will help bone marrow to produce more red blood cells, the paper said. Rooney will have a second scan in two days, the Daily Telegraph added.

World ruling body FIFA will allow England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to name Rooney in his 23-man squad on May 15 and replace him as late as June 9 if he isn't fit, the Telegraph reported, citing FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren.

United coach Alex Ferguson said yesterday it was a ``wild dream'' for Eriksson to suggest Rooney could be fit to play in the quarterfinals of the showpiece.

``If he's not fit, he's not going,'' Ferguson told the club's Web site.

Middlesbrough coach Steve McClaren will be paid 3 million pounds ($5.5 million) a year to succeed Eriksson after the World Cup, according to the Sun. The Football Association will make the appointment this week after Portugal's Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari withdrew from the running.

Wayne Rooney admits he is anxious to win at Stamford Bridge this Saturday to deny Chelsea the Premiership title.
A point or more would clinch a second successive title for the Blues, and Rooney admits he would find the ensuing championship celebrations hard to stomach.
"We want to go there and win," he said. "It would be devastating if we only get a draw and they're celebrating around us."
While eager to scupper the Blues' title hopes this weekend, Rooney is full of respect for Jose Mourinho's side, and admits that he and his team-mates need to maintain their fine recent form into next season.
"Chelsea over the last two years have been consistently good," he admitted. "They've raised a notch and we have to do that ourselves and try to get back above them.

"Over the last four or five months we've played really well, and we want to continue that into the start of next season and hopefully we'll be a lot closer [to Chelsea]."
Wayne was addressing the international media at the launch of the new Nike Total 90 Supremacy boots. The striker will sport the boots for the first time in Saturday's clash.
"Knowing me, though, I'll probably score with my head that day," Wayne joked.

Candour comes easy to those who have faced life square on and dangled both ways of its middle.

Liverpool legend Steve McMahon played with raw courage and primal aggression to earn his midfield the synonym of minefield for the enemy forwards. He was the darling of English fans and part of two FA Cup winning Liverpool sides.

But the flip remains that he could only don 17 England caps and his performance on the biggest stage of football - the World Cup - was decidedly marginal. McMohan knows the agony and the ecstasy of football. The best bit is that he shares it with remarkable frankness though with a strong bias for his English roots.

“My international career left a lot to be desired. I was a part of the Three Lions (England) for six darned years and got only 17 caps. Sometimes, you just can’t change your destiny,” he said.

But his loyalties lie firm. The only player to have captained Merseyside rivals Everton and Liverpool said that there are three clear reasons why England would win the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

“Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and John Terry. Terry provides the spine, Gerrard the strength to the midfield and Rooney the striking ability. That boy (Rooney) loves the big stage and plays his best when it really matters,” said McMohan whose live remarks will enliven the proceedings on ESPN-Star which, according to main man RC Venkateish, “has exclusive rights to the World Cup and will not have to share the feed with Doordarshan”.

The best part about a World Cup according to McMahon was its ability to showcase obscure talent from less acclaimed football nations like “Trinidad and Tobago”. “We see players doing so well for their clubs but it is interesting to see how they cope with the pressure of being on the big stage,” he said. “The World Cup can make heroes out of unlikely talent.”

Macca, as he was fondly called, urges for more professionalism to spur the game in India. “For a country of a billion people, it is ridiculous that the national team hasn’t been able to make its presence felt. India need big coaches.”

From his famous “I’ll kick my brother if he comes in my way” nature while playing to his “Oh Gazza was mad as a bloody hatter!” description of the off-field antics of Paul Gascoigne today, McMahon’s boots may be off but his bite sure isn’t. Along with McMahon, Harsha Bhogle will also look to extend his conversational brand of commentary to football during the World Cup telecast.

It is 16 years since England last reached Number One with an official World Cup anthem, when Manchester music legends New Order wrote World In Motion for Italia 90.

Back then, it was Liverpool striker John Barnes who provided the players' contribution with: "Catch me if you can, 'cos I'm the England man."

Ironically, the official song could face its stiffest opposition from Barnes, who has been approached to provide a rap for an unofficial fans' anthem.

New Order bassist Peter Hook, who co-wrote the "old" song, believes the Football Association should now turn to Rooney for the anthem to top the charts for this summer's tournament in Germany.

Arctic Monkeys

He told the M.E.N: "I'd go for the Arctic Monkeys this year, possibly with a rap by Wayne Rooney.

"Any anthem needs to be loud and punky, and a little bit cheeky, which they could pull off."

England's Joe Cole has also tipped the Arctic Monkeys as the band who could lend credibility to the official World Cup anthem.

The FA says the final decision on who will represent England in the charts will be made in the next few weeks.

New Order's World In Motion reached Number One in June 1990 and England had their most successful tournament since 1966 by reaching the semi-finals.

England failed to qualify for the 1994 tournament and in 1998 the official song How Does It Feel by England United only reached number nine in the charts.

The official England anthem for 2002, We're On The Ball by Ant & Dec, also failed to top the charts, peaking at number 3.

Nigel Martin Smith, who discovered Take That, said the FA should go for a mainstream artist.

He said: "I think it needs to be someone like Oasis or Robbie Williams, someone who isn't cheesy and who really cares about football."

Wayne Mark Rooney (born October 24, 1985, Liverpool, Merseyside, England) is widely considered to be one of the leading young talents in world football - in September 2005 he was selected by his fellow professionals as the inaugural FIFPro World Young Player of the Year. He currently plays for Manchester United and the England national football team as a second striker, although the 2005/06 season has seen Rooney playing both centrally and on the left and right flanks. He wears the number 8 shirt for his club, vacated by Nicky Butt, and is generally given the number 9 for his country.

Rooney was brought up in a suburb of eastern Liverpool called Croxteth, where he and his two brothers attended De La Salle School.

Although he has been under an intense media spotlight since first arriving on the scene in 2002, it was not until his performances at the Euro 2004 that he gained a reputation on the world stage, as he spearheaded the English attack, scoring 4 goals - England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson compared his impact to that made by the legendary Brazilian Pelé at a similar age during the 1958 World Cup (this comparison has led to him being nicknamed "El Blanco Pelé" - the white Pelé - by some United fans). Other commentators have compared him to Manchester United legends, Duncan Edwards and Eric Cantona. Comparisons to former Argentine star Diego Maradona are not unknown.

He is currently the youngest player ever to play for the senior England team, making his debut on February 12, 2003, aged 17 years, 111 days. England's youngest ever player previous to this was James F. M. Prinsep of Clapham Rovers, who made his debut almost one and a quarter centuries before, on April 5, 1879, aged 17 years, 253 days. Rooney is also the youngest England scorer ever (17 years, 317 days).

Career

Premiership breakthrough

Rooney gained national prominence in October 2002 when he became the youngest* goal scorer in the history of the Premiership at 16 years and 360 days of age, while playing for Everton. His spectacular goal was a last-minute winner against the then-League champions Arsenal that consigned them to their first league defeat in almost a year. Coincidentally, Wayne Rooney also played a huge role in ending Arsenal's record unbeaten run, winning a penalty and scoring the second goal, in Manchester United's 2-0 victory over Arsenal in October 2004 - Arsenal's first Premiership defeat in 50 games. At the end of 2002 he won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Young Personality award.

* This record has since been surpassed twice; firstly by James Milner, aged 16 yrs 357 days, while playing for Leeds on 26 December 2003. secondly by James Vaughan, aged 16 yrs 271 days while playing for Everton on 10 April 2005, making him the youngest Premiership goal scorer to date (Feb 2006).

England career

He has also figured prominently in recent England international matches, after having become the youngest ever player to play for England, in a friendly against Australia, in February 2003 and also set a record as the youngest player to score for England. In 2004 Rooney became the youngest player ever to score in the European Football Championships on 17 June 2004 when he scored twice against Switzerland; however the Swiss player, Johan Vonlanthen, broke this record against France four days later. However, Rooney was injured in the quarter finals against Portugal - England were subsequently knocked out. As of 13 November 2005, he has played for England 28 times and has scored 11 international goals.

Transfers

Before turning 17 and becoming eligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £100 a week and living with his family on a council estate. Now, the teenage sensation has raised that several times and earns an estimated £50,000 (€73,500 / $90,000) a week. Following intense media coverage of Rooney at the 2004 European Championships, Everton claimed that they would not transfer his contract for less than £50 million. The club offered Rooney a new contract for £50,000 a week. This, however, was turned down by Rooney on the 27 August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to battle for his services.

The Times newspaper reported rumours that Newcastle's initial bid was made at the request of Rooney's agent, who eventually made £1.5 million from the deal and employs the son of the Newcastle United chairman. This bid was intended to force Manchester United to try to buy the player a year earlier than they had planned. In any event, the Newcastle United bid succeeded in forcing Manchester United to enter the bidding. Rooney handed in a transfer request to Everton and on 31 August 2004 Rooney signed for Manchester United after a deal worth up to £27 million was agreed. The deal took place rapidly, and was concluded just hours before the transfer deadline.

The initial fee of £23m is paid directly to Everton Football Club over two years; the rest of the money depends on appearances and/or success at Manchester United and/or England. It is unlikely the fee will reach the maximum £27m due to the complex nature of the contract drawn up by the two clubs. A final fee in the region of £25m plus costs (mainly agents' fees) is more likely. In the club's 2004-05 accounts, Rooney's contract is recorded as having a book cost of £25.066 million as at 30 June 2005, with contingent payables of £4 million, giving a maximum final fee of £29.066 million including costs.

Rooney's transfer fee is the second highest for an exclusively British deal, with only his Manchester United team-mate, Rio Ferdinand, commanding a higher fee. Rooney does however have the honour of being the most expensive teenage footballer ever, being only 18 when Manchester United signed him.

Rooney made his début for the club on 28 September 2004 in the UEFA Champions League against Fenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick and also an assist (the match finished in a 6-2 win for United). For the 2005/06 season, Rooney initially started playing in wider positions than his more favoured central role. Pundits and fans alike agreed that he seemed less effective in such positions, and eventually, after Manchester United's poor run of form early in the season Sir Alex Ferguson moved him back to his stronger position, playing behind Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy as a second striker.

Disciplinary issues

Rooney is also known for his hot temper and ill-discipline on the pitch. In September 2005, against Northern Ireland Rooney launched an on-field outburst at England captain David Beckham, but since then, the pair have played down the bust-up.

His temper problems also came to the forefront in the 0-0 draw with Villareal during United's Champion's League encounter in Spain. Rooney was sent off for dissent after he sarcastically applauded the referee, Kim Milton Nielsen after he was initially booked.

Rooney has pledged to keep his temper under control and both his club and international managers have defended him, citing his youth as the main reason for his behaviour. It's known that other teams and players are familiar with Rooney's disciplinary problems and sometimes use them against him, teasing him or provoking him. Since the 04/05 season he has been trying to keep his temper in check, as shown by a drop in cards received so far in the 05/06 season.

Personal life

Rooney has rarely been out of the media spotlight since his emergence, and has received criticism for his relationship with fiancée Colleen McLoughlin, who is often featured in the tabloid press for her notorious shopping habits.

Rooney's personal life has also often been marred by accusations from the press surrounding his illicit relationships with mature prostitutes.

Charity work

Rooney has often been involved in raising money for Claire House and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, and is also noted for his role as ambassador for SOS Children UK. As a member of the Manchester United side, he also takes part in charity and promotional work for UNICEF.