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World Cup 2010: Gilberto Silva: Wayne Rooney is as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and can inspire England to glory in South Africa
Former Arsenal star full of praise for Red Devils striker...
By Steve Alexander
John Terry has been stripped of the captaincy by England boss Fabio Capello, following allegations over an affair with the ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge.
Since then Bridge has declared himself unavailable for international football meaning he will not be playing in South Africa this year.
With Ashley Cole out injured with a serious ankle injury, Capello's problems have been mounting.
The form of Rooney however, has caught the eye of the Brazil squad who are preparing for a friendly game against the Republic of Ireland at the Emirates Stadium.
"Of course, we look at Rooney very closely, especially if we have to face England," Gilberto told Press Association Sport.
The former Arsenal midfielder also compared Rooney to the likes of Kaka, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He said: "You can say he is at the same level as them. He is doing very well. Year by year, he becomes better and better by the experience that he is getting over the years and I am sure he can do a lot for England this summer."
England could face Brazil in the semi-finals in South Africa and Gilberto does not feel their recent problems off the field will affect England's chances.
"I think that is a concern but we cannot, as a possible opponent of England, focus on that and think that this kind of thing can disturb them," he said.
"England is a very strong squad, a very strong team. We know that. Some of the England players are in very good form.
"They can do a lot in South Africa. It will be a tough tournament for everyone who wants to win. We will fight for it."
Hosted by Joe Doyle
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
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