Rooney declared fit for World Cup

BUHLERTAL: Wayne Rooney was put through his paces on Thursday at his first England training session since jetting back to Germany after being given the green light to play in the World Cup.

The 20-year-old striker, in a sleeveless shirt, showed no ill effects of the whistle-stop trip to Manchester for a scan on his injured right foot, which confirmed that he would be able to play in the tournament at some stage.

Rooney joined his teammates at their Black Forest base in the tiny village of Buhlertal just outside Baden-Baden for a warm up ahead of their opening match against Paraguay in Frankfurt on Saturday.

He was seen stretching, jogging, skipping and kicking the ball on a hot day in southern Germany.

Exactly when Rooney will be ready to pull on an England shirt again remains unclear although England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has always been hopeful of having him available from the start of the knockout stages.

Such an outcome had looked highly unlikely when Rooney broke a metatarsal bone in his right foot while playing against Chelsea on April 29, exactly six weeks before the start of their World Cup campaign.