With less than 1000 hours to go before the World Cup Finals kick-off in Germany, England's Three Lions have hit a major set-back.

England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was stretchered-off in Saturday’s Premiership match between Chelsea and Manchester United after badly injuring his foot.

The 20-year-old striker, who is expected to lead England's attack during the World Cup this summer, appeared to pick up a foot injury after a tackle by Chelsea full-back Paulo Ferreira and was stretchered off in the 82nd minute of the match.

He was later seen boarding the Manchester United team coach with his foot heavily strapped and using crutches.

"It's a sore one but we will just have to wait and see," said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "There's no point in making assertions at the moment.

"When a player is taken off you are always concerned. We've had quite a few bad injuries this season but, hopefully, Wayne is not a bad one."

As yet, the extent of the injury is unknown, but it seems that the talismanic young striker will miss the rest of the season at least.

This is a major blow for Sven Goran Eriksson’s England, who also missed the presence of Rooney in Euro 2004 quarter-final against Portugal, which severely affected England's chances of victory.

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