The good news has already spread: Rooney will play in the World Cup. As soon as he is fit, he will be back on the field.

Rooney joined in training with the rest of the England squad on Thursday and was full of smiles as he took part in a light session in front of the media at the Mittelberg training camp. Following training, a decisive Eriksson told reporters: “The good news from yesterday evening and today is Rooney has no more injury.

“He is injury-free and it is up to us now to get him match-fit and when we think he is match-fit I am prepared to take him to any specialist we or Manchester United want to take him to. I’m doing this in the best interests of Rooney, the England team and 40 million England fans. I’m prepared to listen to everyone and discuss Rooney, but the last say in this story is Rooney’s and mine.”

Unfortunately, the bad news comes from Gerrard, who still fights against his sore back, a problem that seems more serious than previously anticipated and might make him lose the first match, against Paraguay.

The Liverpool midfielder is battling to overcome a knock on his hip which caused him to suffer back spasms during training earlier in the week. Gerrard took some part in Thursday’s session in Germany but rates his own chances of playing against the South Americans as 50-50.

“It is not a back problem,” he said. “I got a knock on my hip which made my back go into spasms. The good thing is it is improving all the time. I have got a good chance of playing on Saturday but I need to keep working on it from now until Saturday.

“What is a good chance? As we speak now, I am probably 50-50 to play - but if it keeps improving as it has done over the last 24 hours, then I’ll be there.”

Source: WCoffsite