Wayne Rooney Can Link Up With England for Spain Match

Manchester United have cleared Wayne Rooney to link up with England ahead of Wednesday's friendly with Spain at Old Trafford.

The United striker limped off with an ankle injury in the latter stages of his side's 4-0 win at Tottenham yesterday. Sir Alex Ferguson claimed afterwards that Rooney would be assessed by United's medical staff this morning but expressed doubt as to whether the 21-year-old would be fit enough to face the Spanish.

However, United have decided to let Rooney join up with Steve McClaren and the squad, with the Football Association having the final decision over the forward's fitness.

It is good news for McClaren who faced losing his entire three-man strike-force from the November draw in Holland. Joe Cole has already been ruled out with a broken foot, while Andrew Johnson has only just returned to action after an ankle injury. Having lost eight members of his squad prior to the Holland game, McClaren has escaped relatively unscathed this time around, with Tottenham's Jermaine Jenas and Owen Hargreaves the only absentees from his 28-man party.

"I won't be taking part in the match," admitted Hargreaves after making his return from a broken leg for Bayern Munich on Friday. "I just want to show my face and take part in one or two training sessions."

John Terry is also expected to play only a minor role following his long-term injury problem, which means the Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard will captain the side. "It will mean an awful lot to me," said Gerrard. "To walk out at the front and lead the boys out into battle will be extra special."

Gerrard insisted there will be no ill-feeling towards new squad member Joey Barton, who was critical of England players who released autobiographies in the wake of last summer's dismal World Cup campaign. "I'm going to give him a knock after the press conference with a signed book and he can read that over the next couple of days," laughed Gerrard. "There's no hard feelings between myself and Joey. We're from a similar area. The interview he's done has gone over my head."