BECKHAM INJURED: out for the whole season ?

[Elano]

Galaxy's David Beckham collides with Pachuca's Christian Gimenez in the first half in a play before injuring his knee in the final of the SuperLiga tournament Wednesday night at the Home Depot Center.

Soccer star probably won't play for the Galaxy again this season after suffering a knee injury.

The curtain has come down early on the first act of the David Beckham show.

The English superstar, brought to Major League Soccer in July to inject new life into the league and soccer in the U.S., is done for the season. Beckham suffered a sprained right knee and will be sidelined for "approximately six weeks," the Los Angeles Galaxy said Thursday night.

It means that Beckham's first MLS season is essentially over, after playing only 310 minutes in six games at a guaranteed salary of $6.5 million a year.

His arrival in Los Angeles, with his wife, Victoria, the former Spice Girls singer, triggered vast publicity, partly because of Beckham's reputation as a world-class athlete, but also because of the hype that surrounds the celebrity couple. Beckham's first Galaxy game was attended by his friend Tom Cruise and televised nationally by ESPN, and he drew 66,237 fans this month to a Galaxy match in New Jersey.

Soccer merchandise and tickets have been sold in record numbers, not only here but in every MLS city, based on Beckham playing.

Beckham underwent an MRI scan to determine how much damage was done to his knee when he sprained his medial collateral ligament from a tackle during Wednesday night's loss to Pachuca of Mexico in a match at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Los Angeles plays eight MLS games in September and four more in October, but it appears unlikely that Beckham will return to take part in what by then will be the meaningless last two or three Galaxy matches. He also will miss the England national team's crucial two Euro 2008 qualifying games against Israel and Russia in London next month and possibly two more in October.

"At the moment it doesn't feel great," Beckham said of his right knee Wednesday night, although he just as easily could have been talking about his injured left ankle.

Beckham reported to the Galaxy with a swollen left ankle he hurt in his final game with his former team Real Madrid, causing him to miss seven of his first 13 games with the Galaxy.

"It's just gone from one thing to another thing. Maybe it's time for me to just say I need the rest and get it right and don't come back until it's right," he said.

Now that Beckham is sidelined, the ramifications extend far and wide.

Planned exhibition matches with Beckham and the Galaxy have been scheduled in Canada and Australia. In Vancouver, 45,000 tickets have been sold for an Oct. 3 exhibition and the opening page on the Vancouver Whitecaps' website includes the message "Beckham is coming" and a countdown clock clicking off the days, hours, minutes and seconds until he arrives.

"Obviously, Beckham needs to play," said Bob Lenarduzzi, a former Canadian international player and now the Whitecaps' president. "If he can't play on Oct. 3, we have to find another date. If it ends that we can't reschedule, we would look" at refunding fans the cost of the tickets. "We'll do the right thing."

In MLS, meanwhile, clubs maintain that there will be no refunds if Beckham can't play.

"Not only would it be rare, it would be unprecedented," said John Koluder, a spokesman for the MLS club Real Salt Lake. "We have no plans to go that route. Unfortunately, there is nothing that fans who bought tickets for those games can do. We cannot guarantee that David Beckham. . . will play on that day. That's the chance the fans take."

The Galaxy plays at Salt Lake City on Sept. 19 and the game is close to being sold out.

"People will be disappointed, no doubt about it," said Oliver Luck, president of the defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo, which hosts the Galaxy on Oct. 7 in another sold-out match.

Beckham's MLS contract calls for him to get extra money from various endorsement deals that reportedly could push the total value of his five-year deal to $250 million.

Since Beckham's arrival, soccer merchandise sales have skyrocketed by 300% league-wide and by 700% for the Galaxy and already the team's white or blue jerseys with Beckham's name and his number 23 have become fashionable in Los Angeles.

It is hard to know if sales will taper off, but chances are there will be some negative effect as disappointed fans face the prospect of not seeing Beckham and instead getting an injury-decimated Galaxy team whose 3-10-5 record is the worst in MLS.



Beckham's injury "takes everything, the whole wind out of its sails," said Trevor Drissel, 36, a computer technician, who was shopping Thursday at a Sports Authority store in Cerritos heavily stocked with Beckham gear. "The Galaxy is making up $250 million, or whatever they paid him, back in endorsements. So they made their money back. It's their fans that are getting hurt" by his absence.

Within the Galaxy, meanwhile, Beckham's notoriety brought extra pressure to the team. Alexi Lalas, the Galaxy's president and general manager, has lashed out at the "ridiculous" schedule imposed on his team by MLS although he signed off on that schedule when it was announced after Beckham's signing.

The players too have criticized a schedule that has forced them to play 12 games in six cities in the last 40 days and will see them play another eight games in 30 days in September. "Guys just don't have time to recover," said Galaxy midfielder Chris Klein. "They miss two weeks and they miss six games."

The strain on embattled Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop was evident Wednesday night, when his post-match comments were laced with harsh words. He later apologized for the language.

"All the crap that we've been going through, it's been difficult to frigging deal with," Yallop said. "Sorry to swear, but it's been hard. The players kept going. That makes me proud. They are absolutely spent. They gave everything they had. That's all you can ask for."

As for Beckham, "David is playing with an injury. He shouldn't be playing, to be honest. He's hurt, but he's playing. That shows the character in him and it shows the character of the team because he lifts the team when he plays. That's what we wanted in David and he gives that to us," Yallop said.

Yallop's future with the team, though, appears far from certain.

Rumors have surfaced that Juergen Klinsmann, who coached Germany to third place in last year's World Cup, was poised to take over the Galaxy coaching reins, although Klinsmann has emphatically said that he has no interest whatsoever in the position.

Yallop, who won two MLS championships with San Jose, hopes to rebuild everything next season with a healthy Beckham and a stronger and deeper lineup. "We've just got to make sure. . . that we learn from what we did this year."

Meanwhile, Beckham has already left a mark.

Another Sports Authority shopper, Alan Lurie, 42, said he wasn't a soccer fan but he's heard of Beckham: "I don't know of anyone who hasn't."

Beckham's arrival "brought a lot of focus to the game," Lurie said. "I'm sure it helped the L.A. team and soccer all over the U.S.. . . [and] I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens next year."

[K.Dub]

If he's out for the whole season, I'd release him on a free transfer

[wcsoldier]

Beckam didn"t go to LA to play soccer anyways ... it's all about business

[7even]

That's what happens when someone is forced into playing injured, then tackled badly on purpose by jealous players.

[swangin and bangin]

lmao
dude had a fucked up knee and decided to keep playing on it atleast thats what i heard

[rik]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bay Area Jat]

huge blow for the MLS

[KURUPTION-81]

That's what happens when someone is forced into playing injured, then tackled badly on purpose by jealous players.

it werent a bad tackle, the ball was there to be won. Both players went in 50 50 both got the ball and beckham basically jarred his knee.

[Javier]

That's what happens when someone is forced into playing injured, then tackled badly on purpose by jealous players.

it werent a bad tackle, the ball was there to be won. Both players went in 50 50 both got the ball and beckham basically jarred his knee.

Yep.  What Beckham tried to do is do a small touch to the left but the Pachuca player decided to go at the ball full strength and the result is what it is.   

[bez]

gutted for Becks, but all this travelling is going to take it out of him. I still think he should of came back to England for a few years. MLS would of taken him when he was about 35 never mind 33 or whatever he is now. Silly really. Hope he gets better soon though, I cant help but like the dude, hes just a down to earth family guy.

[KURUPTION-81]

gutted for Becks, but all this travelling is going to take it out of him. I still think he should of came back to England for a few years. MLS would of taken him when he was about 35 never mind 33 or whatever he is now. Silly really. Hope he gets better soon though, I cant help but like the dude, hes just a down to earth family guy.

true that, he has said before though he wouldnt play for another english club unless it was united. still surprised he turned milan down.