Weeks of almost hysterical debate over the state of Wayne Rooney's foot injury could have been avoided if an Oxfordshire firm's invention had been adopted sooner.

Scientists at Oxford MediStress based at Upper Heyford have developed a technique for monitoring stress in athletes which bosses claim can help identify whether they have fully recovered from injury.

Now Rooney's club Manchester United have agreed to a three month trial of the system in time for the start of training for the new Premiership season next month.

Dr David Sarphie, chief executive of Oxford MediStress said: "We are thrilled about the opportunity to work with a football club as prestigious as Manchester United.

"Our system will provide an invaluable assessment tool for the coaches and medical staff."

The Player-Monitoring System works by taking a simple blood test and mixing it with chemicals which allow an analysis of how stressed the player is.

The results are available in minutes so that training regimes can be altered, if required.

Dr Sarphie added: "We are monitoring long-term recovery from injury as well. It would have been a ideal tool for Rooney's injury as it looks at conditioning and how the body is reacting and would have given much more effective evidence."

The system has already been used by elite swimmers and is generating a lot of interest in atheltics circles, but the the trial with one of the biggest football clubs in the world is a major break-through for the Oxford University spin-out company which only started up about a year ago.

Scientists from the company based at the Cherwell Innovation Centre will work with the Red Devils' training staff and club doctors to assess the players.

And Dr Sarphie has not ruled out working with manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is renowned for his high stress levels.

He added: "That is something we could certainly discuss but the key thing is convincing him our system will provide him with useful information that he will be able take advantage of in a team situation."

A club spokesman said no-one was available from the medical team to comment until training began.