Rooney lifts England on training pitch

Striker Wayne Rooney gave England's World Cup hopes a boost yesterday when he began a training session with the rest of the squad.

Rooney, who broke his foot on April 29, took part in the first 20 minutes of the session at their training base near Baden Baden, to the delight of coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The 20-year-old Manchester United forward then did a mixture of running, sprinting and ball work on his own with England fitness coach Ivan Carminati.

Rooney will have a scan on his foot in Manchester today.

"I think he looks very good," Eriksson told a news conference as his team prepare for Saturday's Group B opener against Paraguay. They also face Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden in the group.

Eriksson, who has until 24 hours before that game to keep Rooney or replace him with standby Jermain Defoe, said he expected the scan result by tomorrow morning at the latest.

"It's totally up to the surgeons, the specialists, the doctors and physios. I can't judge it," he said.

"But I've always said I think he will be available, that he will take part in the World Cup. And I still believe it very, very strongly."

Goalkeeper Paul Robinson was also buoyed by Rooney's presence, saying: "He did the warm-up today - he's been training with the physios for the last couple of days.

"Looking at him now, it's looking positive. It gives us a boost obviously."

However, Gary Neville warned against taking club mate Rooney for granted, having had a similar metatarsal injury which ruled the defender out of the 2002 World Cup.

"It's encouraging in one sense. But I have an experience in 2002 while I was in Manchester recuperating from my broken foot... it's not always how it appears.

"I was jogging prior to my scan and went to see the specialist thinking I would be given the go-ahead to start training and was told I'd have to have an operation four days later.

"I hope that doesn't happen for Wayne - everyone wants him to take part in the World Cup. But until the surgeons have met tomorrow I don't think anybody will know for sure.

"The lad had a broken foot, just leave him be. Let him rehabilitate, he'll be looked after by the right people."

Left-back Ashley Cole, nursing a hamstring problem that forced him off during the first half of Saturday's 6-0 friendly win over Jamaica, also worked separately from the squad.

Three players who missed Monday's session in England did their first workout in Germany - Neville, John Terry and David Beckham - though Beckham later sat out the training match.

Midfielder Steven Gerrard missed the final minutes of the session with a stiff back but Eriksson said it should not be a problem for Saturday.

As for Cole and Beckham, Eriksson said: "Almost for sure they will be on the pitch tomorrow - full training. Fingers crossed, I can't see any problems for Saturday."

It would mean the best fitness levels for Eriksson going into a tournament after the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004.

"There's no doubt it," Eriksson said.

"You can't compare it with Japan or Portugal. They are fit and they are much more confident than in the last tournaments."