Sven-Goran Eriksson admits England losing Wayne Rooney is like Brazil losing Ronaldinho.

Eriksson made no attempt to lessen the impact of Rooney's injury as he confirmed there was more than one fracture in the striker's broken foot.

Eriksson said: ''I would be stupid if I didn't say it was bad. Of course it's bad news if he can't take part in the World Cup.

''It's like Brazil missing Ronaldinho or France missing Thierry Henry.

''You can't replace Rooney because he's unique. You can't replace Ronaldinho because you don't have two Ronaldinhos.

''He is one of our absolute best players but we have a very good team, a very good squad, and I'm convinced we will have a very good World Cup.''

Rooney broke his foot against Chelsea on Saturday. A scan after the game showed the break but a second scan yesterday appears to have proved there is more than one fracture.

Eriksson was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to see Rooney carried from the pitch in agony and the Swede received a phone call from concerned captain David Beckham within an hour.

The England boss and his coaches have spent four days considering their options if the worst news does come through.

Michael Owen's injured foot complicates matters. Newcastle striker Owen complained of discomfort after returning from a broken foot at the weekend and may not play against Chelsea on Sunday.

Eriksson expects Owen to be fully fit in time for the World Cup, which starts on June 9, but is not sure about his sharpness.

Eriksson said: ''We have two problems. I am quite sure Michael will be fit but nobody knows about Wayne Rooney. That's two extremely good strikers.

''We have discussed it a lot and we have to wait and see. It might be possible to change the formation but we have a lot of time to think about that.

''We have three games to look at our options.

''If you take away Michael and Wayne, you have Darren Bent, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe who are likely to come in.''

Owen is likely to be given a run in the England B game against Belarus B on May 25 in a bid to boost his match sharpness.

He then has two friendlies, against Hungary on May 30 and Jamaica on June 2.

Eriksson will name his 23-man squad, plus up to four standby players, next Monday and looks certain to include Rooney.

The England boss said: ''I will probably name him on Monday. It will be 26 and maybe 27 players. Three or four of those players will know they are reserves.

''I will not rule him out until the doctors tells me there is no chance. No-one wants that to happen. Everyone hopes he can take part in the World Cup at some stage.''

Eriksson has spoken to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and the pair agreed Rooney should complete his recovery work in Manchester rather than join the England camp.

Eriksson said: ''We had a long chat about Rooney and the fact that he is going to stay in Manchester.

''I might pick him but he is going to stay in Manchester to do all the recovery until he is football fit.

''I think that's fair. He is staying at home and working with the physios and masseurs in Manchester.

''Nobody knows when he will start running. Nobody knows today.

''He has a serious injury and I will be updated tomorrow because our doctor goes to Manchester tomorrow to see Mike Stone.''

Nike, meanwhile, have denied their new Total 90 Supremacy boot is in any way responsible for the injury to Rooney.

A Nike spokesperson said: ''Both Wayne and Manchester United's medical staff have confirmed they do not believe the boot was linked to Wayne's injury.

''Wayne tested prototypes and neither he, nor any of the other players who tested the boot, experienced any problems."