Sven-Goran Eriksson is considering whether to start Wayne Rooney in England's crunch World Cup match with Sweden after the star striker's successful comeback against Trinidad and Tobago.
NUREMBERG: Sven-Goran Eriksson is considering whether to start Wayne Rooney in England's crunch World Cup match with Sweden after the star striker's successful comeback against Trinidad and Tobago.
England qualified for the last 16 after defeating the Caribbean minnows in a faltering 2-0 performance that left them needing only a draw against the Swedes to be sure of topping Group B.
But with England keen to avoid a possible last 16 meeting with Germany, Eriksson is determined to leave nothing to chance -- and that could mean a place in the starting line-up for the fit-again Rooney.
"In principle, I can do it," said Eriksson, when asked whether the Manchester United star would start in next Tuesday's match against the Swedes in Cologne.
"It's totally up to me and this time no doctor will have a say. Wayne is match fit and it will have been good for him to get 30 minutes on the pitch.
"We don't want to rush him but we will look very closely at how he does and we will take it one day at a time." Rooney entered the fray as a substitute for Michael Owen against Trinidad after dramatically being given the all clear earlier on Thursday after a new examination by two independent medical experts.
Eriksson said he was relieved that his star player was now fit for action and expressed confidence that Rooney will soon be at his optimum level
"We all know what kind of a football player Wayne Rooney is. Of course he's not 100 per cent in form but you can't expect that," Eriksson said.
"But now he's in the tournament and he can only get better and better.
I'm relieved that the Rooney saga is over. It has been talked about every day, every press conference. Really the players were fed up with it."
England captain David Beckham meanwhile welcomed Rooney's return, but warned against fans placing too much expectation on the 20-year-old's shoulders.
Chants of 'Rooney, Rooney' began ringing at the stadium within the first half an hour as England's supporters grew impatient for goals.
But Beckham warned it was unfair to expect too much from Rooney as he attempts to rediscover his sharpness after a six-week lay-off.
"People expected that as soon as he came on that he would go past four players and stick one in the top corner," said Beckham.
"He's more than capable of doing that but it's about him getting his fitness now and he's done that with the 30 minutes he got, but we have to be patient with him.
"The World Cup needs a player like Wayne Rooney. You want to see the best players perform in the biggest competitions in the world and we've got that. ut it's his first game in six or seven weeks and we've got to be very patient."
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