Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney's fractured metatarsal has not completely healed.
A scan on the England star's injured foot revealed it is still damaged so a second examination on June 14 will determine whether he can compete in the World Cup finals.
"Obviously we're making progress but the fracture is not completely healed," he relayed to MUTV. "It goes exactly to the timetable we decided at the beginning. We said this is going to take six weeks and that is exactly where we are at this very moment in time.
"We've been right all along.
"We say this because there's been so much wild assertions and exaggerations in the newspapers that we've kept an even keel because there is that inclination to be too optimistic but we are making progress.
"The next stage is to have a scan on June 14 in Manchester, hopefully the fracture is completely healed by that time.
"We will continue his development in terms of the training part next week. Hopefully, he'll do some light jogging and we'll monitor it as we go along.
"Because he's young, he doesn't feel any pain and this is a dangerous area but the scan quite clearly shows the fracture is not healed.
"We're praying and hoping. I've said all along we'd get him there somehow, we'll do our very best and that's what we're doing.
"We are doing our very best. Obviously, there has to be an improvement and a complete recovery because it's not an easy injury as anyone who has had it knows.
"We have to tread carefully. Hopefully, we'll get there. The next one [scan] is the key one, of course. Wayne has to take care of himself also, it's not just what we can do from a medical point of view. He's got to work hard to make sure he's having a proper rest and wearing his orthopaedic boot at the right time, particularly in training.
"Hopefully, the fracture will heal by June 14 and be completely healed; if not, then it's impossible."
A scan on the England star's injured foot revealed it is still damaged so a second examination on June 14 will determine whether he can compete in the World Cup finals.
"Obviously we're making progress but the fracture is not completely healed," he relayed to MUTV. "It goes exactly to the timetable we decided at the beginning. We said this is going to take six weeks and that is exactly where we are at this very moment in time.
"We've been right all along.
"We say this because there's been so much wild assertions and exaggerations in the newspapers that we've kept an even keel because there is that inclination to be too optimistic but we are making progress.
"The next stage is to have a scan on June 14 in Manchester, hopefully the fracture is completely healed by that time.
"We will continue his development in terms of the training part next week. Hopefully, he'll do some light jogging and we'll monitor it as we go along.
"Because he's young, he doesn't feel any pain and this is a dangerous area but the scan quite clearly shows the fracture is not healed.
"We're praying and hoping. I've said all along we'd get him there somehow, we'll do our very best and that's what we're doing.
"We are doing our very best. Obviously, there has to be an improvement and a complete recovery because it's not an easy injury as anyone who has had it knows.
"We have to tread carefully. Hopefully, we'll get there. The next one [scan] is the key one, of course. Wayne has to take care of himself also, it's not just what we can do from a medical point of view. He's got to work hard to make sure he's having a proper rest and wearing his orthopaedic boot at the right time, particularly in training.
"Hopefully, the fracture will heal by June 14 and be completely healed; if not, then it's impossible."
