Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United forward, is expected to be fit for England's World Cup qualifying matches against Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The 22-year-old picked up an ankle injury in the 3-0 Champions League victory over Aalborg in Denmark on Tuesday. Rooney limped out of the match in the 59th minute and although he is expected to miss Saturday's match with Blackburn Rovers, he should be able to join up with Fabio Capello's squad for the matches on October 11 and 15.

"Wayne has an ankle injury and is considered doubtful for Saturday's game against Blackburn, but he should recover in time for England's forthcoming matches," a club spokesperson said.

Rooney played an influential role in England's 4-1 win over Croatia in Zagreb last month and his absence would have increased the pressure on players such as Theo Walcott, who scored a hat-trick, to emulate his scintillating performance when England play Kazakhstan and Belarus.

With Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tévez and Cristiano Ronaldo to call upon, Sir Ferguson Alex would have had enough striking options to cope without Rooney, but his loss would have come as a devastating blow to Capello, who is due to name his squad on Sunday evening, particularly given that the forward appears to have returned to form with two goals in as many matches for his club.