England have been told by FIFA that they can wait until the eve of their first World Cup match to replace injured striker Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United’s Rooney broke the 4th metatarsal in his right foot playing at Chelsea on Saturday, and is expected to out of action for at least six weeks. That coincides with the start of the World Cup in Germany on June 9.

England must name its full 23-man squad by May 15, but FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said on Tuesday that England can name a replacement for Rooney any time before England's first group game against Paraguay on June 10.

“On the one hand FIFA wants to make sure that players are sufficiently rested and recuperated, which is why we have these early deadlines to nominate the squads,” said Herren.

“At the same time, we also want to make sure that the coaches of the 32 finalist teams have all options open in case of an injury or illness for a substitution if someone cannot compete at the highest level.”

England head coach Sven Goran Eriksson has said that he plans to include Rooney in his World Cup squad in the hope he will be fit for the knockout stages starting June 24. But Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described Eriksson's scenario as “a wild dream.”

“Sven-Goran Eriksson saying he will take Wayne to Germany fit or not was something we didn't want to hear,” said Ferguson.

“Really, it is folly to suggest the boy could be out of the game for six weeks, then two weeks later go and play in the World Cup quarterfinal.”

Ferguson said it should be the decision of Manchester United, not England, to decide whether Rooney will be fit to go to the World Cup.

“At the moment we have to calm people down, rather than build up people's expectation, which is what is happening at the moment,” continued Ferguson.

“We will do our best to get the boy to Germany, but if he is not fit he is not going to go.”

Rooney, in his first interview since receiving the injury, told Manchester United TV that he will be getting daily treatment in hopes of making it to the World Cup.

"I’ll be coming in every day and trying to give myself the best possible chance,” said Rooney. “I’m obviously devastated to have broken my foot at this moment in time, it really is horrible.

“You've just got to get on with it and be positive. That's what I'm trying to do at the moment and I'll be trying to get myself fit as soon as possible.”

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