Rooney watch will be in full effect this weekend as England fans wait to see if he will play against Sunderland.

The Manchester United striker is reportedly back in training after suffering a groin injury and although on the face of it this is good news for the Three Lions, supporters will know that there could still be problems ahead.

Sir Alex Ferguson cares little for England's World Cup hopes and will be more than willing to play a half-fit Rooney to secure the Premier...

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It was meant to be a minor knee injury which would keep him out for no more than six weeks, but the knock Michael Essien took at the African Cup of Nations could rule him out of the World Cup.

Although he would be a certain starter for Ghana if fit, he has almost certainly been ruled out for the rest of the domestic season and that has to raise questions about his ability to perform in South Africa.

Even if he is fit to play, he will have no time to achieve full match...

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Adam Johnson is the latest young player to be linked with an England call up and although he has looked impressive for Manchester City this term, but it looks too soon to ask him to shine on the world stage.

It certainly seems that Martin O'Neill missed a trick in signing Stuart Downing. Johnson was his understudy when the pair where at Middlesbrough, but since they made their respective moves the City man has looked far more impressive.

However, some good Premier League...

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England's best left back, Ashley Cole, should return for Chelsea by the end of the month and national team manager Fabio Capello will be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the news means one of his key players will be able to get match fit ahead of the World Cup.

Cole was injured at the start of February and there had been fears his broken ankle could rule him out of the tournament this summer. Now though, it looks like he will return slightly sooner than expected. The left-back...

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It's a quirk of football the perceived seriousness of injuries increases at the end of the season approaches. Take Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas. Yes, a broken leg is clearly very serious - although his cracked fibula is less dramatic than some injuries we've seen this term - but he'll only be kept out for six weeks. Not that long in the grand scheme of things. Had he suffered the break around Christmas time, pundits would have been saying that it was a blow to Arsenal, but things could have been worse....

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