England's star striker Wayne Rooney says he was always confident of overcoming a toe injury in time to feature in the World Cup finals.

Rooney had been expected to miss out altogether after fracturing a toe while playing for Manchester United against Chelsea, but he has made a double-quick recovery to play a major part in England's success so far.

"I know when I'm ready to play, the physios and the people who matter know when I'm ready to play," he told reporters.

"A lot of what was written in the press was wrong. I was always confident and knew when I wanted to play and when I was fit to play.

"I've always been positive from the day I got injured. My main aim was to play and to have taken part in three of the four games so far, I'm really happy with that."

Rooney, who has yet to get on the scoresheet, added: "Hopefully that first goal will come soon, but I'm not too worried as long as we keep winning.

"I would be quite happy to go through the tournament and not score if we won the World Cup.

"Playing up front on your own gives the midfield more chances and, as long as they're scoring and we're winning games, I'm not too concerned."