Manchester United are having to rein in Wayne Rooney's enthusiasm to make a first team return ahead of schedule.
The 21-year-old England striker was ruled out for six weeks, including England's crucial European Championship qualifiers against Israel and Russia on September 8 and 12, after breaking a metatarsal for the third time in his career during United's opening Premier League fixture against Reading.
However, he has declared himself "fit and ready to play" to team-mates and is eager to figure as soon as possible — even believing he could return ahead of his newly-scheduled comeback at Everton on September 15.
Indeed, manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the striker's desire to return last weekend.
Ferguson said: "Rooney's fine. He's jogging and he even wanted to play against Spurs! Typical Rooney, he wanted to play with an injection. It's quite possible he'll be back in three weeks."
United have been working with Nike to study Rooney's bone structure, the way he runs and his footwear to try to avoid a repeat of the injury.
Ferguson said: "We're looking at his running style. It is very powerful and he comes down heavily on the ground. I went across the whole range of issues involved with Nike and they are not slow in getting solutions to make sure everyone's happy, particularly their players."