Laser treatment 'could get Rooney back in five weeks'

After putting Wayne Rooney in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to help speed his recovery, the medical team at Manchester United is considering using a revolutionary laser treatment on his broken metatarsal.

A leading sports physiotherapist has offered to treat Rooney with scanning laser therapy, which can cut an injury's recovery time by half. Brian Simpson, an expert in the high-speed treatment of trauma injuries, said this could see the England striker back on the pitch within weeks.

"It's quite feasible that he could be playing again in four to five weeks," he said.

Mr Simpson, the physiotherapist at Ipswich Town during the reign of Sir Bobby Robson, has treated hundreds of sportsmen at his Suffolk clinic, including the former British superbike champion John Reynolds. "I see a lot of top-class bikers with broken collarbones, and we expect to see them racing again in four weeks," he said.

The treatment speeds up the healing process by using powerful lasers to stimulate cells around the injury.

Motorcycle champion Leighton Walker underwent the treatment after a multiple fracture in his arm earlier this year. "I was told I'd never regain full mobility, but I was racing again six weeks after I broke my arm," he said.

Although he has not been formally approached by Manchester United, Mr Simpson said that he was ready to help if called on. But Rooney's doctors may be reluctant to use a treatment that has yet to be thoroughly supported by medical research.