ROONEY

Last updated : 29 June 2006 By Ed

* "I spoke to him a few times and he kept wishing me luck. He's been really supportive from day one. He's always wanted me to play in the World Cup. Now I'm here he's really happy for me."


* "I have already been kicked a few times in the tournament and I'm sure it will happen again on Saturday. But you just have to get on with it and play your game. Above all, you have to stay cool. My main aim was to play out here and I'm really happy to have taken part in three games already. Hopefully, it will now be another three games. You never know what's going to happen. I'm hungry to score and the sooner I do the better, whether that's the next game or the game after. In training I can feel my form coming back. Every day I'm getting better. The more you're playing, the more you're touching the ball, the better it gets. Hopefully, by the time the Portugal game comes, I'll be back to my best. It would be nice to get a first World Cup goal. But as long as the team wins, that's the main thing. I don't know how I would feel if I scored after so long out. With luck, though, I'll score soon. It's brilliant when the fans are behind you and chanting your name."

* "As soon as it happened I knew I had done something bad,. The doctor told me I'd broken it, but when we got the X-ray nothing showed up. I had to go for a scan - it was only a small break and the doctor told me, if I worked hard, it would heal. It has done; I stayed positive and always believed I'd play in the World Cup. I don't let things get me down.

"Alan Smith was in every day [at their Carrington base] doing the same thing. We were working together and that probably helped me because it would have been a lot harder on my own. Most of the lads in the England squad rang me to see how I was. It was nice they all cared and they all wished me good luck and a speedy recovery. When there was football on the telly, it was horrible to watch. I just wanted to be back playing. The fitness coach at United [Mike Clegg], who I was working with every day, was pushing me hard. He wanted to get the best out of me. I'm grateful for that. He never let me stop. Since I've moved from Everton to Manchester United [after Euro 2004], my fitness has gone a lot better. I don't think the England players were surprised I made it. They had seen me in training, I'd been speaking to them and they knew roughly when I'd be back. I wasn't scared about taking a challenge because the doctors told me that, if there was contact, there wouldn't be a problem. That took a lot of pressure off me.

* "You have got to be more disciplined, and stay up there and keep the pitch stretched, keep the game high. That's hard work. I tried to do that to the best of my ability. I think I did a good job. I don't mind playing up front, on my own or in a two. I'll play wherever the manager tells me. As long as the midfield players keep making runs, it isn't a problem. It isn't a one-man band. I don't think the team think I will win the World Cup on my own. We have got a lot of match-winners in the team: look at Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard. It'd be nice to get that first World Cup goal, but as long as the team win, that's the main thing. Hopefully I'll score soon. I'm hungry."

Bit more in The Guardian:

Two fellow Manchester United employees helped him. One was Michael Clegg, a former reserve defender and now one of the club's fitness trainers. "He was pushing me hard and he wanted to get the best out of me, and I appreciated that." The other was a fellow striker in similar difficulties. "It was lucky for me that Alan Smith was doing the same thing. He was in every day and we were working together and that helped me. If I'd been on my own it would probably have been a lot harder. While I was working in the gym there was football on the television and it was horrible because you just want to be playing."

After three weeks of treatment and rehabilitation, he knew he had a chance. "From that time I couldn't feel a thing in my foot. The physios and the doctors were really positive, so from them I realised I'd be OK. I started stepping my training up and doing different stuff."

Eventually a month and a half of speculation and controversy came to an end when, 14 days ago, he was summoned from the bench as a second-half substitute against Trinidad & Tobago. As during the previous match, against Paraguay, he had heard the supporters chanting for him. "It's brilliant," he said. "The fans are behind you and it's a great feeling."

He had no qualms about his readiness to return. "I think a lot of people thought I was sitting at home and not working while I was injured. Although it's not the same as playing matches, you're still doing everything you can to keep yourself fit. Since I've come back, I've felt good."

So far, too, there has been no reaction from the now-healed foot. "The doctors made me aware that if there was contact, it wouldn't be a problem. That took an awful lot of pressure off me. In the games I've played so far I've had kicks but you've just got to stay cool and get on with it. I'm sure it'll happen again on Saturday."