Port Elizabeth - England's impressive 1-0 World Cup win over Slovenia here Wednesday which secured a ticket to the last 16 was tainted by an ankle injury suffered by Wayne Rooney.

The Manchester United striker had to come off in the 72nd minute at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, with manager Fabio Capello sending on Joe Cole as a substitute.

With their next match coming on Sunday against the winners of Group D in Bloemfontein England will be praying one of their most important players will have made a full recovery in time.

Capello commented: "I took Wayne off because his ankle wasn't feeling too good.

"I don't know exactly what he's got but I'm not concerned, I think he'll be okay for our next game on Sunday."

Rooney was just one member of Capello's side that kicked his lacklustre showing in the first two matches into touch to produce a performance more in keeping with the form he shows day in, day out in the Premier League.

England, with five points, finished runners-up in Group C behind the United States, who beat Algeria 1-0 in their closing first round match to top the table on number of goals scored.

Copyright News24.com. Reprinting is not allowed without express, written permission.