Rooney has scored once in his last seven England appearances

England's Wayne Rooney has dismissed reports he is struggling with injuries ahead of this summer's World Cup.

Striker Rooney, 24, had ankle and groin problems last season and also suffered from a stiff neck in England's 3-1 friendly win over Mexico on Monday.

But he said: "Fitness-wise I feel good. I have been in every training session with England since we got together.

"I haven't got an ankle problem, that story's a load of rubbish. I had a bit of a stiff neck but that should pass."

Rooney is arguably England's key player ahead of the World Cup finals in South Africa after a stunning season in which he scored 34 goals for Manchester United.

606: DEBATE I believe Rooney is being asked to play through a pain barrier that would normally require quite a bit of rest LordHarryLadd

After being hampered by injuries towards the end of the campaign, Rooney added that he may have an advantage over the other players and that it is only natural to feel tired when a season has finished.

"Do players feel jaded after a long season? Of course, it's a long season for everyone," he stated. "I'm quite fortunate in I haven't trained a lot in the last six weeks.

"I have had a full week's training at the England training camp in Austria and I felt good out there.

"It can sometimes be a bonus having a break during the season. Fingers crossed it will be."

The former Everton striker played the full 90 minutes against Mexico at Wembley but failed to add to his 25 England goals in his 59th international appearance.

He has scored only once in his last seven games for his country but believes ensuring the team's build-up is right is more important than scoring goals.

"Of course I'd like to score but that's the way it is," said Rooney. "I'm glad it's in a friendly and not in the World Cup that it didn't happen. Hopefully I'm saving them up for the World Cup.

"But this is an important time for us, we are trying to make sure we are ready for South Africa. We'd like to be out there preparing but we must get it right."

England have one final World Cup warm-up match, with Fabio Capello's men taking on Japan in Austria on Sunday at 1315 BST, before the Italian names his final 23-man squad on Tuesday.

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