Wayne Rooney has taken a step closer in his race to be fit for the World Cup by taking part in running and ball work at England’s training camp in Carrington.
The England striker has been recovering from his metatarsal injury and will undergo a scan on 7 June to determine whether he will be included in Sven Goran Eriksson’s 23-man squad.
Eriksson said: “I’ve always been confident he will take part in Germany. I’ve always said that.
“He’s been working really, really hard. Physically he’s very good, and he hasn’t put on weight.”
Eriksson added: “I think we have to wait until 7 June when he has the scan. I loook forward to that but from tomorrow he will practice with us, with our physios.”
Eriksson’s assistant Steve McClaren said: “He has been working with the United physios all this week.
“He’s stepping things up, having the relevant scans and progressing well.”
“Of course, you never take things for granted in football and with the metatarsal especially,” added McClaren.
“Hopefully the scans will be OK but you’ve seen the progress he’s making.
“He’s a confident lad and he wants to be there and he’ll be doing everything possible to be there.”
Rooney, who suffered the injury against Chelsea on 29 April, is not expected to play any part in England’s Group B matches, although Eriksson remains hopeful that he may have a part to play if England reach the knockout stages.
