SOCCER: Wayne Rooney is refusing to relinquish hope of performing in England's World Cup campaign this summer. But significant fears remain that the broken fourth metatarsal bone in the Manchester United striker's right foot has ruled him out of the tournament.

Indeed, there has as yet been no firm medical evidence to contradict the Old Trafford manager Alex Ferguson's declaration that Rooney's desire to play in Germany will be "impossible" to realise if he must spend a minimum of six weeks in a medical shoe. However, on his own club's television channel MUTV yesterday, Rooney issued a sanguine message to England fans.

"I've got to come in for (treatment) every day and give myself the best possible chance," said the 20-year-old. "I know with the physio team behind me at Manchester United they'll all be helping me."

Rooney's application clearly cannot be faulted and despite Ferguson's statement, his club will also do their utmost to rehabilitate the forward in time for the tournament's later stages. The forward will sleep in a hypoxic tent in an attempt to ensure that the blood supply to the injury is well oxygenated, a key element to a swift recovery.

However, although Rooney will receive expert medical attention, his chances of making the tournament remain slim at best. Rooney underwent a second scan on his injury yesterday, though the results will not be returned until today. His club is adhering to the general prognosis of a six-to-12 week recovery period from the April 29th date of the break.

With the England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson keen to ensure Rooney is given the widest window in which to prove his fitness, the English Football Association will submit his name among the provisional 23-man squad given to Fifa on Monday. That must be finalised on May 15th but Fifa regulations allow injured players to be replaced by players on a standby list as late as June 9th.

"I don't know about the World Cup," said Rooney. "Obviously I'm disappointed to get injured as I have done. I'm devastated to break my foot. At this moment in time it's horrible, really, but you have got to get on with it, be positive and try to get fit as soon as possible."

With a media caravan having been camped outside his family home, Rooney requested that he is permitted to concentrate on his recuperation without outside distractions. "I'd like to thank everyone who's supported me and for me to get fit it's important that I have the privacy."

That may be difficult to ensure, though, since Rooney's injury is not just a major talking point in the English media. Lars Lagerback, the coach of Sweden, England's third opponents at the World Cup, expressed regret that Rooney might miss out.

However, Lagerback believes the English threat would not be completely diminished by his absence. "It is the World Cup where all the best players are supposed to perform in front of a world crowd," said Lagerback. "Wayne Rooney is an international top-class player. We know (England) will still be a strong opponent (without him)."

West Ham United are optimistic that Dean Ashton will be available for the FA Cup final after a scan on the hamstring injury the striker sustained at West Bromwich Albion on Monday night showed only slight damage. The signs are that the 22-year-old will need 10 days to recover, just enabling him to play against Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium.

Ashton has been a prominent figure in West Ham's run to their first cup final for 26 years, scoring twice against Manchester City in the sixth round, and can expect to start if fit, even though he has gone eight games without a goal. It would be a boost to Alan Pardew to have Ashton at his disposal when the manager is already without the suspended midfielder Hayden Mullins.

Teddy Sheringham would seem the obvious replacement for Ashton if the former Norwich City player suffers a setback in his rehabilitation, having replaced him after 23 minutes of the 1-0 victory at West Bromwich. The Hammers' winger Matthew Etherington is expected to recover from a groin injury to face Liverpool.

Sunderland's captain Gary Breen admitted his side have lacked the experience and ability to stay in the Premiership after seeing them collect another unwanted record. However, the 32-year-old Republic of Ireland international insists they could not have worked any harder to prolong their stay in the top flight.

Monday's 3-0 home defeat by Arsenal left Sunderland with only 12 points from their 36 league games and unable to beat the all-time low 19-point total they set during the 2002-03 season.

Breen said: "I could understand if the fans were really getting at us, but I think they are quite a knowledgeable crowd. They realise this is a young, inexperienced team and not a lot of money has been spent on it in the three years I've been here. We did fantastically well to win the league last season, but it was a big ask coming into this league. Our supporters are aware of that."