Rooney sights early return

Everton's teenage striker Wayne Rooney could still be fit for the start of the new season despite picking up an ankle injury, his manager David Moyes believes.

Moyes has not ruled the 17-year-old England striker out of his plans for the Premiership opener at Arsenal on August 16, even though it was originally thought that his ankle injury would sideline him until the Merseyside derby against Liverpool on August 30.

"Hopefully the injury doesn't keep him out too much and I would say there's still an outside chance he could be available for the first game of the season," Moyes told the Liverpool Daily Post.

"It's quite a bad twist he's got and we expect him to be out for four weeks, but knowing the boy there's a chance he could be back much sooner than that."

Rooney picked up the injury in a pre-season friendly against Rangers at the weekend and his absence was obvious as Everton slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Dundee on Wednesday.