Steven Gerrard ready for England opener

FRANKFURT, June 9: England midfielder Steven Gerrard should be fit to play in tomorrow's World Cup game against Paraguay, said coach Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Gerrard, who said yesterday he was only 50-50 after suffering a back spasm, trained with the rest of the squad at the Waldstadion today.

''He should be on the pitch tomorrow unless he suffers a reaction tonight, but I think he will be play,'' Eriksson told a news conference.

Gerrard did jogging and ball work with his team mates on the pitch that will host the Group B game. He also spent time warming up away from the rest of the squad.

Wayne Rooney, who Eriksson said was over his broken foot, also took part in the session which was closed to the media after 15 minutes.

Eriksson has not ruled out using the 20-year-old striker in the group stages although he said he would not feature against Paraguay.

England's other group opponents are Sweden and Trinidad&Tobago.

REUTERS

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