The Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is expected to be fit for England's forthcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The 22-year-old picked up an ankle injury in the Red Devils' 3-0 Champions League victory over Aalborg in Denmark earlier this week. Rooney, who scored United's first goal limped out of the match in the 59th minute and could miss their Premier League clash with Blackburn.

However, the injury is not thought to be serious enough to rule him out of international duty and should join up with Fabio Capello's squad for the matches on October 11 and 15.

"Wayne has an ankle injury and is considered doubtful for Saturday's game against Blackburn," said United today, "but he should recover in time for England's forthcoming matches."