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.