Wayne Rooney has definitely been ruled out of the first three games of England's World Cup challenge. The Manchester United striker returned to England's training base in Baden-Baden having apparently been given the green light to step up his training.

But he has done so on the advice that he plays no part in England's Group B campaign and is then monitored 'very carefully' before he is allowed to take the field during the knockout rounds.

After a long and draining day, which involved a return trip back to Germany, two visits to the exclusive BUPA clinic in Manchester and a drive to family in Merseyside, Rooney learned that his broken foot had healed sufficiently to breath life into his World Cup.

But, having released him back into the care of the England physios, following the assessment of an independent medical expert, United expect Rooney to remain sidelined until the first knockout round on either June 24th or 25th at the very least.

"Wayne is now in the care of the England medical team," said a statement released by the club late tonight. "The expert independent medical view is that Wayne has a good chance of being fit after the group stage.

"At that point, the expert independent medical view is that his participation in the tournament will require very careful assessment in order to address his suitability, as he will not have had the opportunity to play in less demanding games."

Although the use of the independent medical advice suggests there was some disagreement between the respective doctors of the FA and United, Lief Sward and Tony Gill, both parties felt it was better to use the third party.

That was believed to be Angus Wallace, a professor of orthopaedic surgery at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre and a former chairman of the National Sports Medicine Institute, who was on hand at the clinic anyway.

Man United officials are satisfaction with the situation, believing it backs up their theory that it would be at least six weeks before Rooney was fit to play - and then another two or three before he was capable of playing in a game.

However, should Eriksson call on Rooney for the final group game against Sweden on June 20th, or the striker suffer a recurrence of the injury at any stage during the tournament, the phone line between Old Trafford and Soho Square will be searing hot.

Ferguson was involved in the process throughout the day from his holiday base in the south of France, while United chief executive David Gill was also heavily involved in negotiations with FA executive director David Davies, who attended the fateful scan in person.

Under FIFA rules, United could not withdraw Rooney without England's permission, something Eriksson's recent optimism made almost impossible. Instead, Ferguson will cross his fingers and hope his star man returns safely, while at the same time, unlucky Tottenham man Jermain Defoe will pack his bags and head for home.