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Rooney still unlikely to play in World Cup says expert
Thursday, 8th June 2006, 12:26

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The chances of Wayne Rooney playing a full game for England during the World Cup are still highly unlikely according to a top orthopaedic surgeon today (thurs).

The Manchester United striker was cleared to return to England's training camp in Germany after flying to Manchester for his latest scan, with doctors saying there was a good chance he would be fit to play in the knock-out stages, which begin on June 24.

But medical staff could not agree on the result, forcing them to seek second opinion from Angus Wallace, professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

James Bliss, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London, said this suggested the scan was not as good news as has been reported.

He also said he could see Rooney limping in pictures of him training, and said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was right to be worried that his star striker could be injured for far longer if he returned to action too soon.

Mr Bliss said: "I'm not so sure it is such good news from the scan. I think he would have gone back to the training camp whatever the results.

"The fact that they had to ask Angus Wallace for a second opinion suggests that the scan may not be as encouraging as first thought.

"If you look at the pictures from the other day there's a couple of times he strikes the ball quite well but he limps as soon as he comes down. He tries to take the weight of his foot. Although he might say it feels fine, he's clearly having trouble, if you know what you're looking for.

"The significance of that is the million dollar question.

"I think the likelihood of him playing at the level he needs to play at for competitive football is no more than 50-50. He may well be able to get back to jogging and light training, but that's very different from the sort of stresses in a game.

"The problem is when you accelerate and decelerate, that puts huge loads on the injured area. The main stresses come from jumping and changing direction quickly.

"So until he gets back to full training with sprinting and hard turns and tackles he won't know whether he's able to play.

"I don't think either he or Sven or anybody else will know what level he's at for another two or three weeks.

"Realistically I think two or three weeks from now, if he's able to sprint and change direction he may be able to play but I'd be very surprised if he's able to play a full game, if at all.

"The main danger is he could break down again. That doesn't have to mean the bone fractures again, just that the swelling and irritation and pain comes back, and he wouldn't be able to play.

"If he gets tackled or someone steps on his foot as he turns then there's a real danger it could fracture again. It's definitely more vulnerable because of the recent injury.

"What's more of a risk that he breaks down under the stresses of the game."

Mr Bliss said Rooney would be wary of re-injuring his foot when he returned, and opposition players would try to exploit that and even attempt to cause another break.

He said: "That's exactly what they're going to do. They are professionals and they know certain things you can do.

"Obviously you can be sent off for deliberately stamping on someone's foot, but there's certain other things you can do like tackling from a certain angle or going past him on his weak side where he can't turn as fast. If they've got any sense they'll make him turn so he puts more pressure on his weak foot.

"The bottom line for Wayne Rooney is he's been thinking about nothing but his foot for weeks. At the back of his mind he will still be a little bit guarded about it and that'll take about another ten weeks for him to get full confidence back.

"I'm sure that Alex Ferguson's main concern is that Rooney could injure himself for a much longer period of time. That's a genuine possibility.

"If he were to injure his foot it's going to take longer to settle down next time. It would be unlikely for him to need surgery if he breaks down again, although it is a possibility. You have to cross that bridge when you come to it."

-- posted by SimonMelville