Rooney's scissor-kicks and volleys signal flying recovery

Flying scissor-kicks and rasping volleys ­ at England's last training session before they flew to Germany yesterday, Wayne Rooney showed his determination that his broken metatarsal will not stop him from playing at the World Cup finals.

It was an extraordinary performance from a player who only broke a bone in his right foot on 29 April. Rooney flung himself at an angle to meet crosses with the foot that, many specialists have predicted, will not be strong enough to play a World Cup on. The crucial scan, that will determine if he misses the tournament, takes place tomorrow in Manchester. Rooney will catch a flight back to England and, if the news is good, is expected to be back in the team's hotel by the evening.

When Rooney joined the England players at The Grove hotel outside Watford for the closed session it was intended that he participate in only the running, but the striker has always found a football difficult to resist. It showed that Friday's exercises, in which he was kicking a ball at United's Carrington training ground, were not a one-off.

Sir Alex Ferguson may not like the speed with which Rooney is pushing himself, but United maintain that his recovery is "on timetable" .David Beckham and Gary Neville sat out training yesterday but will be back today but Ashley Cole (thigh) and John Terry (knee) may wait another day.