Post by Tony on May 2, 2006 20:29:37 GMT
Fifa have revealed that England will have until the day before their World Cup campaign begins to replace Wayne Rooney, should they need to.
It had previously been thought that The Three Lions would not be able to bring in a new player, if they named an already injured one on their 23-man squad - which needs to be named by May 23.
Rooney has been given six weeks to overcome the broken metatarsal bone in his foot, which he picked up against Chelsea at the weekend.
His two managers, Sven Goran Eriksson and Sir Alex Ferguson already appear to be at odds over Rooney's recovery - with the Swede insisting he will take Rooney if he has any chance of playing.
Ferguson has condemned that attitude, but Fifa's ruling means Rooney can be given over five weeks to recover before a decision needs to be made.
"Coaches will have players who are crucial to their team and who they hope will be fit in time for the tournament and this gives them a chance to recover fully right up to the beginning of their team's World Cup," Fifa's Andreas Herren confirmed.
"That provision is there for any player, provided a medical certificate confirms the injury.
"The diagnosis must be formed in a way that an independent observer or the Fifa medical specialist can logically draw a conclusion based on the case history and clinical findings.
"We had a similar approach over the last World Cup," Herren told Sky Sports News.
"The point is that Fifa want to make sure the players are sufficiently rested and recuperated.
"But we want all coaches to have options open to them."
England are now almost certain to name Rooney in their initial squad, and will then have until June 9 - the day before their opening game with Paraguay to decide whether to keep him with them in Germany.
By Graeme Bailey
It had previously been thought that The Three Lions would not be able to bring in a new player, if they named an already injured one on their 23-man squad - which needs to be named by May 23.
Rooney has been given six weeks to overcome the broken metatarsal bone in his foot, which he picked up against Chelsea at the weekend.
His two managers, Sven Goran Eriksson and Sir Alex Ferguson already appear to be at odds over Rooney's recovery - with the Swede insisting he will take Rooney if he has any chance of playing.
Ferguson has condemned that attitude, but Fifa's ruling means Rooney can be given over five weeks to recover before a decision needs to be made.
"Coaches will have players who are crucial to their team and who they hope will be fit in time for the tournament and this gives them a chance to recover fully right up to the beginning of their team's World Cup," Fifa's Andreas Herren confirmed.
"That provision is there for any player, provided a medical certificate confirms the injury.
"The diagnosis must be formed in a way that an independent observer or the Fifa medical specialist can logically draw a conclusion based on the case history and clinical findings.
"We had a similar approach over the last World Cup," Herren told Sky Sports News.
"The point is that Fifa want to make sure the players are sufficiently rested and recuperated.
"But we want all coaches to have options open to them."
England are now almost certain to name Rooney in their initial squad, and will then have until June 9 - the day before their opening game with Paraguay to decide whether to keep him with them in Germany.
By Graeme Bailey
