Beckham still a long way from playing for Galaxy
TORONTO -- David Beckham said Saturday afternoon that it will most likely be “a week to 10 days” before he is ready to start a game for the Galaxy.
Speaking at a crowded news conference at the Air Canada Center, the injured midfielder ruled himself out of today’s Major League Soccer match against Toronto FC at BMO Field and indicated that at least two upcoming Galaxy games -- at D.C. United on Thursday and at the New England Revolution next Sunday -- also are doubtful propositions.
All three games, including today’s, are sold out, with fans having expected to see the England star play.
Beckham’s injured left ankle, a combination, he said, of a severe sprain and ligament damage, has limited him to 16 minutes 19 seconds on the field in a Galaxy uniform, and that was two weeks ago in a friendly against Chelsea. He still has not trained with the Galaxy since his introductory news conference on July 13.
Could it be two, three or four more weeks before he will be able to start?
“No, I don’t think it’ll be that long,” Beckham said. “I think it’s maybe a week to 10 days that I’ll be looking at. Today, running like I did, was a huge step for me because I hadn’t really been able to move on it at all. So today’s quite a good step.
“The problem is with it being my left ankle and the way my stance is when I kick the ball, when I strike the ball, it’s putting a lot of stress on that ankle.”
Beckham’s pinpoint passes and trademark free kicks are done with his right foot. His left foot carries his weight.
Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop last week said Beckham was experiencing “sharp pain” in the ankle at times, and even the limited running that Beckham did behind closed doors Saturday was not without its downside.
“Running straight forward is not a problem,” Beckham said, “but turning corners is still a problem for me at the moment.”
The injury, sustained in early June while playing for England against Estonia and made worse by playing in subsequent Spanish league games for Real Madrid, also threatens Beckham’s immediate national team future.
England plays Germany in a friendly at Wembley on Aug. 22, with that game serving as a warmup for two important Euro 2008 qualifiers in September.
Today’s game had been sold out long before Beckham was injured -- Toronto has sold out every game in its inaugural season and tops the league in attendance -- so Beckham’s absence did not affect the crowd other than to disappoint fans who had expected to see him.
His injury, though, is real, and even Beckham’s “week to 10 days” estimate seems optimistic.
“There’s no point in me coming back and playing in a game where people are going to be expecting me to play at a high level, like I can and like I do, and then not perform,” he said.
Meanwhile, Landon Donovan said the Galaxy players have known all along that Beckham’s ankle was in worse shape than advertised.
“I know when he got here [to Los Angeles] it was like a balloon, and you kind of looked at it and went, ‘Is he going to play on that?’ ” Donovan said. “When he played in the Chelsea game it was almost a miracle at that point. He shouldn’t have been playing probably. But he’s getting a lot better.”
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TONIGHT
at Toronto, 4:30 PDT, FSNW
Site -- BMO Field, Toronto.
Radio -- 1700, 830 (Spanish).
Records -- Galaxy 3-5-4; Toronto FC 5-9-4.
Record vs Toronto -- First meeting.
Update -- Cobi Jones (hip and Achilles) did not travel to Canada but will join the Galaxy at Washington on Tuesday.
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