Ack, it's been a frustrating day here at the Conspiracy. Blogger was down during the day, and then a storm sent down my DSL, which made it difficult to follow the two important stories of the day:
First off, today was the day of Wayne Rooney's metatarsal scan in Manchester. The official results will be announced tomorrow, but Rooney, who left the hospital with an obvious smile on his face, took a plane to Germany in the evening to rejoin the English squad at Baden Baden, a pretty clear sign that he's been given the go-ahead to play in the World Cup. Indicators are that he'll be ready for the knockout stage, but apparently Erikson is toying with the idea of giving him some playing time against Sweden.
What makes this saga so fascinating is the undisguised animosity between the FA and Rooney's club Manchester United. Apparently there was two hours of disagreement between England and Man U doctors over interpreting the scan and what precisely it means. And according to the article I linked above, Alex Ferguson is consideringlegal action against the FA if Rooney gets injured again. In other words, this saga is about more than Rooney's chances of playing in the Cup; it is a new front in the ongoing club vs. country war.
The other news is bad for France. Djibril Cisse broke his leg in a 3-1 victory over China today and is out of the Cup. It's a terrible blow for Cisse right on the verge of the World Cup. But it's also a blow for France who were probably going to start him alongside Thierry Henry. That role will probably fall to David Trezeguet, whom I've always felt was a bit pants, but who has apparently scored truckloads of goals when I haven't been watching.
No word yet on who Cisse's replacement will be. France have about 27 hours to decide, before the squads are locked. They already have a bunch of strikers on the squad, so it could be a midfielder... Ludovic Giuly perhaps?
UPDATE: No, it's Sidney Govou, who subbed in at Euro 04 as well.
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