Sven-Goran Eriksson’s assistant, Tord Grip, has admitted that the England coach has yet to devise a Plan B to deal with Wayne Rooney’s likely absence from the World Cup.
The Manchester United striker, 20, is expected to miss England’s group games after breaking a bone in his foot against Chelsea on Saturday and the chances of him participating in the knockout stages looks remote.
Grip told the Sun: “We’re working on Plan B now – but just how that plan looks, I really don’t know.
“We are optimistic Michael Owen will play, but it’s not so good for Wayne.”
England face the worrying prospect of travelling to Germany without both first-choice forwards for this summer’s tournament as Owen recovers from a broken metatarsal bone in his foot.
Grip added: “Of course it’s serious when our top two forwards are both injured.
“We will know more when our doctor, Leif Sward, meets United doctor Michael Stone for talks on Thursday.”
Eriksson has to name his 23-man squad for Germany on 15 May but will announce a provisional squad on 8 May. He can replace any player as late as June 9 – 24 hours before England’s opening match against Paraguay.
Rooney is awaiting the results of a second scan on his injured foot but he refuses to give up on his hopes of making the World Cup.
Rooney told MUTV: “I’m in great hands and I’ll get the best possible chance.”
“You’ve just got to get on with it and be positive.
“I’m obviously devastated to have broken my foot at this moment in time, it really is horrible.
“I’ll be coming in for treatment every day and trying to give myself the best possible chance.”
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