Sven-Goran Eriksson is convinced Wayne Rooney's mere presence on
England's June 5 flight to Germany can spur his team-mates on to
greater World Cup glory.

The Manchester United striker will take his seat among Eriksson's 23-
man party a week on Monday even though he will require another scan
on June 14 just to discover whether he will be able to kick a ball in
England's quest to emulate the heroes of 1966.

"The fact he is flying out to Germany with us will give everyone a
big lift," said Eriksson. "We are still hoping the second scan will
show further improvement and that Wayne can play his part in the
World Cup."

Such is Rooney's importance to Eriksson's squad, the Swede is
prepared to risk having the 20-year-old in his party even though
there is a good chance he will be restricted to the kind of cameo
role Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking had under Ron Greenwood in
Spain 24 years ago.

Whether he gets on the field or not, Eriksson is adamant Rooney will
have a positive effect on England's chances.

On the face of it, there is hardly any sense in Rooney travelling to
Germany given he will not be able to do any football training and he
will be leaving behind all the state-of-the-art medical equipment
available to him at United's luxurious Carrington training complex.

However, FIFA regulations stipulate any player selected for a World
Cup squad must spend at least some time in Germany.

In addition, while Rooney will begin light jogging next week when the
England squad join him at Carrington in readiness for the friendlies
with Hungary and Jamaica, by June 5 it is anticipated the former
Everton star will have advanced onto shuttle runs, work which is
better done as part of a group.

Although there is a large degree of trust required on United's part,
they believe if Rooney is pushed too hard in Germany, the evidence
will be shown on the scan, the results of which are likely to be
known on June 15, the day England tackle Trinidad and Tobago in their
second Group B game.