March 14 – David Beckham is set to be able to spend more time promoting England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup after suffering a serious injury that will keep him out of this year’s tournament in South Africa.
The former England captain suffered a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon during AC Milan’s 1-0 win over Chievo in Serie A when there was no other player near him.
He is due to fly to Finland tomorrow for emergency surgery and a spokesman for Milan said that they expected him to out of action for up to eight months.
“He felt the muscle begin to come up, which is a typical symptom when you break an Achilles tendon,” Milan coach Leonardo told Italy’s Sky TV.
“This is a real blow.”
An Italian TV reporter said that Beckham told Milan trainers “It’s broken,” as he was taken off on a stretcher.
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani said. “I saw him and he was suffering.
“In the dressing room, I took him in my arms and told him that if he wanted, he will be with us next year.”
Beckham is currently on loan for the second time to Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy.
Milan coach Leonardo later added: “David’s injury is bad for us.
“This was an important victory tonight, but this injury prevents us from really enjoying it.
“It’s an important injury and we need to be able to judge how serious it is.
“David realised straightaway what had happened.
“He understood that it was a serious problem and he said so immediately. It’s such a great shame.
“He’s a great lad who makes a huge contribution to the team.”
While no-one would claim that there is a silver lining to such a dark cloud for Beckham, for England’s World Cup bid team it does mean that he will probably have more time on his hands during the event in South Africa to help lobby members of FIFA’s Executive Committee, who will vote on which country will host the tournament in 2018.
If he had been in Fabio Capello’s squad then it is unlikely he would have been able to spend any time campaigning on England’s behalf.
The injury is also a blow to Major League Soccer (MLS).
Don Garber, the MLS Commissioner, said: ”We just received the information about David’s unfortunate injury.
“We wish him a speedy recovery.”
LA Galaxy coach Bruce Arena refused to blame the fact that Beckham was on loan for the injury.
He said: ”Players get hurt whether they’re on loan or not.
“Injuries are unfortunately part of the game.”
More follows
January 2010: Beckham to continue playing after World Cup, says Gullit