With the World Cup only six weeks away, a touch of bruising cleared up with an icepack and a bit of rest was what we were all praying for, yet deep down most of us knew it was going to be far more serious than that.



And as the evening wore on and the news started to filter out, our worst nightmares were confirmed. Because Mr Rooney, that 20-year-old footballing genius, that starlet tipped to be the next Pele, Gazza and George Best all rolled into one, and that young man on whose shoulders the nation's hopes of victory in Germany this summer rest, was as good as crippled.

The broken base of the centre-forward's fourth metatarsal on his right foot will take, we have been reliably informed, at least six weeks to heal, effectively ruling him out the group stages of this summer's tournament. Even six weeks is said to be a somewhat generous estimate, and with fellow striker Michael Owen also suffering complications with his troublesome foot, England's chances of winning the prestigious trophy are looking decidedly less rosy than they were only a week ago.

But now there's more bad news. Newspapers today have carried reports alleging that even if young Wayne is partially fit to feature in the latter stages of the World Cup, the Football Association might be reluctant to play him for fear of suffering the wrath of personal injury solicitors.

Personal injury specialists have revealed that the FA could be on the receiving end of costly compensation claims from Rooney's employers, Manchester United, as well as from his corporate sponsors and the player himself if he plays in the tournament and compounds the injury.

Rebecca Williams, a spokeswoman for YouClaim, the accident claim experts, said, "The FA will think very carefully before deciding whether or not to play Wayne this summer, even if he appears to be almost fit.

"The threat of a lawsuit would be very real if his injury flared-up again and impacted on his domestic season, and that is a risk the FA might not be willing to take."

Personal injury solicitors becoming involved with matters on the football pitch is something that would have been unthinkable even a decade ago, yet the past few years have seen a significant rise in the number of compensation claims resulting from the game. High profile cases involving professional footballers have hit the headlines recently, one of them being former Charlton Athletic and West Ham United midfielder Matty Holmes' much-publicised case that resulted in Kevin Muscat being forced to pay out £250,000 in damages following a dangerous career-ending tackle that resulted in a badly broken leg.

But it is not only the upper echelons of the footballing ladder that have witnessed increased exposure to personal injury solicitors. The beer-soaked, tubby-bellied and often violent world of Sunday league and parks' soccer has begun to feel the effects too, and more than one player has found themselves on the receiving end of a costly personal injury claim after a dangerously malicious tackle.

There is no doubt that the face of football is changing, and today's glitzy multi-million pound business is a far cry from the rough and ready hard-hitting game of yesteryear. No longer is that rectangle of green grass a sanctuary from the law where 22 men can act as violently and irresponsibly as they please, free from the constraints of the civilised world and the consequences of their actions.

Society is changing, and inevitably, football is changing with it; whether we like it or not, personal injury solicitors have a part to play in the future of the beautiful game. We can only keep our fingers crossed that Wayne Rooney's summer World Cup adventure winds up with talk of goals and glory, and not compensation, legal action and solicitors.