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| The World Cup is the greatest prize in
football |
English hopes for World Cup success have
suffered a serious setback with the news that
striker
Wayne Rooney has broken a bone in his foot.
20-year-old Rooney collapsed
in agony after a harmless-looking tackle
during Saturday’s Premiership game between Chelsea and Manchester United. He was
strapped on to a stretcher and carried off the
pitch
to the applause of concerned fans of both sides.
Tests revealed that he has
fractured the fourth metatarsal on his right
foot; an injury that will prevent him from playing for at least six weeks. The
timing of this injury could not be worse given that England must play their
first World Cup game against Paraguay on June 10th.
It seems highly unlikely that the
Manchester United player will be fit in time for that match. And some experts
think it will be impossible for him to play at all.
One person who does believe that Rooney
can make an impact in the World Cup is the England manager
Sven-Goran Eriksson. On Saturday he told reporters, “Wayne is a
world-class player and we will give him every chance to play in
the World Cup; with such a huge talent you have to do that.”
However, Manchester United manager, Sir
Alex Ferguson, takes a less sanguine view. Ferguson responded
to Eriksson’s comments by saying, “We will do our best to get the boy to Germany
but if he is not fit, he is not going to go.”
Ferguson explained the
treatment his young star-player will receive, “Wayne will be
in plaster for the next few weeks and he’ll be having regular
scans to see how it is healing.” But he also
admitted that the injury is a “crippling blow” for the English
team.
However, not all is doom and
gloom in the English camp. Michael Owen, another important English
striker who broke his foot in January, has returned to play for his domestic
team, Newcastle United.
On Sunday Newcastle’s manager described
Owen as “very close to being 100%” – a comment that makes it seem likely he will
be match-fit by June.
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