Rooney relishes Brazil test as England lose Lampard

England’s preparations for their friendly clash with Brazil suffered another setback on Thursday when Frank Lampard flew home after suffering a thigh strain in the squad’s first training session in Qatar.

The loss of the Chelsea midfielder further depletes a squad already missing more than half of the line-up that head coach Fabio Capello would ideally have liked to name to face the five-times world champions.

Lampard suffered the injury to his left thigh while training in temperatures above 30 degrees on Thursday morning. After a lengthy assessment by England’s medical staff, it was decided he would fly back to London.

Capello decided against flying out a replacement in time for Saturday’s match in Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium, which Wayne Rooney believes will provide a measure of how much England will have to improve if they are to lift the World Cup next year.

Rooney, who became a father for the first time last week, is relishing the prospect of facing Brazil for the first time.

The Manchester United forward believes an England squad that failed to make Euro 2008 have earned the right to be considered serious contenders in South Africa after an impressive qualifying campaign.

His optimism though is tempered by realism about how tough it will be to come out on top in a tournament featuring the European champions Spain and Brazil, who put together a run of 11 straight wins on their way to topping the South American qualifying group.

“Of course we are in with a chance,” Rooney said. “But there is a lot of hard work to do yet and there is a lot of improving that we have to do if we are going to win it.

“Our results have been better in qualification than they have in friendlies.

“We did beat Germany (2-1 in November 2008) but Brazil are number one in the world and this is a massive game for us. We need to play some good football if we are going to win.”

Rooney’s billing for Saturday’s clash was endorsed by Lucas, Liverpool’s Brazilian midfielder. “It will be a good test for both teams,” he said.

“England have always had a good team and their recent results have shown their quality. Capello has got them playing as a team.”

Full-backs Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole, Rooney’s United team-mate Rio Ferdinand, Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, goalkeeper David James and Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey were all unable to travel to Qatar because of various injuries.

Capello is also without Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon and lost the services of David Beckham after his club, LA Galaxy, made the Major League Soccer play-offs.

The injury to Lampard could mean an opportunity for Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone to make his first appearance for England, although Manchester United’s Michael Carrick represents a more experienced option for Capello to slot in alongside Gareth Barry in central midfield.

Jermaine Jenas is another possibility for that place while Shaun Wright-Phillips, James Milner and Ashley Young are all vying for roles on the flanks in a line-up in which captain John Terry, midfielder Gareth Barry and Rooney will be the only representatives of what Capello regards as his best XI.

Rooney’s son, Kai Wayne, was born on November 2nd but the striker revealed that he had never considered exercising his right to paternity leave. Instead, pleaded with United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to be allowed to start the Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow 24 hours after the birth.

“I don’t feel any different to be honest,” he said. “I just want to play. Before the CSKA match I went to see the manager and asked if I could play. To be honest, I thought he was going to play me and I only found out I was sub just before the match.”