WAYNE ROONEY will have to wait another three weeks before he is given the all clear to return to England training - meaning he will almost certainly miss out on the group stage of the World Cup.

But, after results of yesterday's scan on his broken metatarsal were revealed this morning, there is genuine optimism that Rooney will be able to play some part in this summer's finals in Germany.

"A further CT scan will be performed in Manchester on June 14 to assess further his recovery and a decision will then be made as to whether he can begin to participate in football training," a Manchester United spokesman said.

If Rooney is told to do just that, England will have already played their opening group game of the finals against Paraguay.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has previously indicated that he will include his hero in his official squad if there is any chance of him appearing in Germany and this latest news suggests he will.

Eriksson said: "It's very encouraging news. The fact that he is flying out to Germany with us gives us all a huge boost.

"We hope the second scan will show further improvement and he will play some part in the tournament.''