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The England and Manchester United striker is nursing a chipped bone in his toe but is ready to sit out the rest of the season so he doesn't jeopardise his World Cup dream this summer.

Rooney had painkilling injections to get him through Wednesday night's 3-1 Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.

But Starsport understands the 28-year-old felt significant pain in his left foot both during and after the game.

He limped home with the rest of the squad yesterday and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.

United have just five games of the season left and are desperate to produce a strong finish to salvage some pride.

But Rooney is more concerned with getting back to full fitness in time for England's World Cup campaign in Brazil.

A United source said: "The chipped bone will repair itself, but it won't happen overnight.

"He had injections in Munich because it was such a huge game and his team needed him, but in truth he shouldn't have played.

"The season is coming to an end and United have little at stake, so his main priority now is to make sure he is firing on all cylinders once the World Cup preparations start."

Roy Hodgson's men travel to Portugal for a training camp next month before facing Peru in a farewell friendly at Wembley on May 30.

The Three Lions will then jet to Miami to continue their preparations with two warm-up games before going on to Rio for the tournament itself.

Rooney is England's talisman and will be the central figure in the team's hopes for a successful campaign in South America.

He also knows it could be his last World Cup and is desperate to give himself the best chance of doing well following miserable campaigns in 2006 and 2010.

There is nothing to suggest he won't be 100 per cent fit before Hodgson needs him.

But the Three Lions boss is keen for his star man to do whatever it takes to overcome the problem.