 De La Cruz can't wait to face England's Wayne Rooney |
Ecuador's Ulises De La Cruz is ready to rough up England striker Wayne Rooney when they meet in the second round game on Sunday. The Aston Villa defender is aware of the anguish Rooney's metatarsal injury has caused and insists he will not hold back when it comes to facing Rooney.
He said: "The fact he is not totally fit gives us a boost. Perhaps I can give his foot a kick to test it out.
"I will certainly do my best to see if he is 100% fit or not."
The 32-year-old is vowing to use his Premiership nous to overcome England having spent four seasons in the English top-flight after joining Villa Park for �1.5m from Hibernian in 2002.
 | None of England's players will come as much of a surprise to me |
He added: "In the Premiership, teams normally play one on one when they are defending, but we protect each other and defend as a group.
"It won't be a problem if we come up against Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard or whoever.
"I have been playing all right for four seasons in the Premiership, so none of England's players will come as much of a surprise to me."
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