Rooney sex scandal could spoil Capello’s plans

Fabio Capello had further reason to curse the British press this morning after two Sunday tabloids carried lurid allegations about Wayne Rooney’s private life. The England coach last week accused the media of turning him into a “monster”, though the papers were full of praise for his England side after their 4-0 thrashing of Bulgaria in Friday night’s Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley.

But the allegations concerning Rooney and another prostitute threaten to disrupt Capello’s plans for Tuesday’s trip to Basle to play Switzerland, a game that would consolidate England’s position as group favourites should they win.

Though Rooney failed to score against Bulgaria he was nonetheless outstanding, playing with more freedom and creativity than he has in a long time for his country. But there are now doubts over whether the 24-year-old will be in the right frame of mind to travel to Switzerland with the rest of the squad.

His absence would create fresh attacking problems for Capello, already without the injured Peter Crouch and Bobby Zamora, and might prompt the England coach to call upon one of either Carlton Cole or Darren Bent.

Neither is experienced but at least they would be playing alongside the in-form Jermain Defoe, on a high after scoring England’s first Wembley hat-trick since Alan Shearer’s treble against Luxembourg in 1999.

“It's difficult to find the words to describe the feeling you get when you score a hat-trick for your country,” said Defoe after Friday’s game. “It's just the best feeling in the world. It's the sweetest hat-trick of my career, without doubt ... a special night.”

Defoe’s exploits were all the more remarkable given that the previous week he was supposed to be going under the surgeon’s knife to rectify a long-standing groin injury. But then Capello’s assistant, Franco Baldini, contacted the Spurs’ striker and asked him to postpone the operation until after England’s opening two matches of their Euro 2012 qualification group.

“I've put the surgery on hold and might not have to have it at all yet,” Defoe explained, adding: “Over the last few months of last season my groin was a bit sore. I thought it was just fatigue but I felt it in the World Cup and a bit pre-season... it was always my decision whether or not to have the operation, but I always want to play and put myself up for selection when I can.”

However, there was bad news for Defoe’s Spurs and England colleague Michael Dawson. The centre-back was stretchered off in the second-half against Bulgaria after falling awkwardly and Tottenham have announced that he’ll be out of action for up to eight weeks. The 26-year-old Dawson sprained ligaments in his left knee and left ankle during his first competitive start for his country, and will also miss the beginning of Spurs’ Champions League campaign.

The loss of the Spurs’ defender won’t be as potentially damaging for Capello as that of Rooney if he does pull out of the Switzerland trip, particularly as Bolton centre-back Gary Cahill looked so assured when he replaced Dawson on Friday night. ·