Rooney to be ready for England

Wayne Rooney will be fit for England next week, even though he is still a doubt for Manchester United's Barclays Premier League clash with Blackburn at Ewood Park tomorrow.

Rooney has only just returned to ball work in training after injuring his ankle in Aalborg on Tuesday, but Sir Alex Ferguson has "no issues" with the 22-year-old joining up with Fabio Capello’s squad for the World Cup double-header with Kazakhstan and Belarus next week.

Skipper Gary Neville is also a doubt with a slight thigh injury, while Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick join Paul Scholes (knee) on the sidelines.

Provisional squad: Van der Sar, Amos, Neville, Brown, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs, Nani, Tevez, Berbatov, Rooney, Welbeck.