England striker Wayne Rooney's chances of making a comeback from injury against Trinidad and Tobago appear to have receded.
The independent medical experts who passed Rooney fit to return to full training last week will not fly out to Germany until Friday. That means they will not check on the striker's fitness before Thursday's game in Nuremberg.
It is understood they do not think the 20-year-old is ready to play and Sven-Goran Eriksson is unlikely to risk him in a game England should win without him.
Professors Angus Wallace and Chris Moran, of the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, agreed last week that Rooney's foot scan showed his broken metatarsal had healed. But they warned he would be prone to a secondary injury if he played before he was fully match fit.
This prompted Manchester United to make a statement claiming Rooney, their player, would not be able to play until after the group stages of the World Cup.
Eriksson refused to accept this agreement. Instead he promised to bring Wallace and Moran to Germany to give Rooney the once-over before he played.
Unless the Swede is about to go back on his word, that means Rooney's first chance of playing will be against Sweden in the final Group B game on June 20.
Bookmakers had stopped taking bets on Rooney returning against Trinidad and Tobago because Eriksson said he was 'optimistic' he would feature.
Rooney has been training hard in a bid to prove his readiness but it looks like he will have to be patient.
