Beckham to Miss World Cup?

The news that David Beckham may miss the World Cup finals should be sad for global supporters of the game. But being totally honest with ourselves and with our readers, we recognise that it won’t be.

Doctor Confirms Beckham Out of World Cup

Supporters in the United States of America can be forgiven if they find themselves dealing with more than one emotion this morning. David Beckham picked up a ruptured Achilles’ tendon in Milan’s 1-0 home win over Chievo yesterday while controlling a pass in the centre circle. Most experts are admitting the real possibility that the former England captain may not recover in time to play in the World Cup.

If you’re American and the tears are not pouring down your face at the news, then the world probably understands. It is never a cause for joy when any player is injured and misses games. To miss a World Cup through injury is probably the ultimate fear of any player. However fans of the MLS, and especially of Los Angeles Galaxy may be feeling more than one emotion this morning.

The story of Beckham’s a la carte Galaxy career is well documented. But in case you are new to the drama, the nub of it is that Beckham decided to pick and choose his availability for MLS based on the needs of his personal career, and in particular based on his desire to play in this summer’s tournament. To facilitate that, he arranged a loan spell with Serie A club Milan to play with them not Los Angeles in that part of the calendar when the seasons collide. Admittedly, LA were compensated and had cause to be reasonably satisfied that, once Beckham had made the decision to relegate them to second best, his handlers did do the right thing by the California club. LA fans gave him a hostile reception upon his return last season although that later appeared to subside as the club went on a run to the MLS final.

Beckham has traveled to Finland where there is an expert in this type of injury. According to the player himself, he hopes to make a “swift and full recovery” from the injury that will likely prevent him from playing at the World Cup, adding “I am upset but want to thank everyone for their messages of support.”

Beckham has appeared in three previous World Cups for England. No England player has ever appeared in four although it was more likely to be as a substitute than a starter in South Africa. The effect of this injury on Beckham’s MLS career is at present uncertain.

The injury is also a blow for his club who narrowed the gap on league leaders Inter to just one point after the latter went down surprisingly 3-1 to Catania in Sicily. Ghanaian Sulley Muntari was booked and sent off all within two minutes of entering as a replacement for Estaban Cambiasso in the 79th minute. The score was 1-1 when Muntari came on and he was shown a yellow card for a foul on the edge of the penalty area within seconds of entering. He then deliberately handled the resulting free-kick inside the box to earn a second booking and give Catania a penalty. They took the lead from that and added a third against ten man Inter in injury time.