Rooney's foot tops the bill again
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-05-30 09:46
LONDON, May 29 - Wayne Rooney's broken foot, never far from the headlines,
was back at the top of England's World Cup agenda again on Monday after
Manchester United agreed to bring forward the striker's next scan by a week to
June 7.
Though the club warned the injury involved a joint and could take longer to
heal than previously thought, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson predictably played down
the implications.
The Swede told a news conference he wanted a clearer idea of the prospects
and the switch had been at his request.
Typically, he remained upbeat, telling reporters: "I'm always positive about
it, optimistic...I'm not worried.
"I don't think it's a change at all. I was in the medical meeting today and I
don't think it's anything new."
Hosts Germany were pleased to learn that one of their key men, captain
Michael Ballack, could yet play a part in their penultimate warm-up against
Japan on Tuesday after making a pain-free return to training.
Ballack suffered an ankle strain in a practice game last week and missed the
7-0 win over Luxembourg on Saturday.
"I had no pain," Ballack said. "If it's no worse overnight I assume I can
play."
There was good news for Ghana who beat Jamaica 4-1 in a friendly played in
Leicester in England.
Serb coach Ratomir Dujkovic was impressed enough to declare: "We are getting
better each game and by the time of the World Cup we will be ready to beat any
team."
The message is unlikely to be lost on Ghana's Group E opponents - the Czech
Republic, the United States and Italy.
French fans were still fretting over a below-par performance by Zinedine
Zidane at the weekend in the 1-0 win over Mexico.
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