Rooney to use oxygen chamber in World Cup fitness bid

MANCHESTER, England, May 4 (Reuters) England striker Wayne Rooney will undergo treatment in an oxygen chamber in his bid to recover from a foot injury in time for the World Cup.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said today the club would do all it could to help Rooney get fit for next month's tournament and played down the significance of the second foot bone fracture suffered by the 20-year-old.

''An oxygen chamber arrives here this afternoon,'' Ferguson told a news conference at United's Carrington training ground.

''He will get that treatment and hopefully that helps.

''There's no conclusive evidence that it does improve injuries, but there is no evidence against it. It won't do any harm and everything is worth a try at this stage.'' Rooney injured himself in United's 3-0 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday and the striker is struggling to be fit in time for England's first match against Paraguay on June 10.

United plan to issue no further statements on Rooney's recovery but Ferguson struck a cautiously optimistic note when he said: ''The break he has got in the fourth metatarsal is a small fracture.

''The one slightly above it is nothing to worry about at all.

It does not affect the recovery. There is no damage there at all. It's just a slight feeling.'' He added: ''We will do our very best to get him there. It's in our interests as well as England's to do that.

''We all need to wait and see how he develops and improves when we do the next scans but we will give him every chance.

''We are giving the boy treatment. We want him on the plane if he can.

''The scan will tell you everything in a few weeks' time. If it's healed then we've got the progress we want. If it's not healed there's nothing you can do about it. You have to carry on with the treatment.

''We are really in the hands of how Wayne improves.'' REUTERS AY HS1844