15 March 2010

David Beckham will miss the World Cup this summer after tearing his Achilles tendon playing for Milan against Chievo last night. The BBC report here provides details, plus Ian Dennis’s assessment that Beckham’s England career is also now over.

Beckham is on loan at Milan only because of his fierce desire to stay in contention for England. Fabio Capello had made it clear he would not be picked if not playing top-quality football. It now seems that re-arranging his life and career away from his “permanent” club, LA Galaxy, has been in vain. He wanted to become the first England player to appear at four World Cups.

The World Cup in South Africa would have been Beckham’s fourth World Cup. He won’t be seeing any pluses in his current plight but in the hard light of day, an injury ruling Beckham out at least spares Capello the decision of whether  to drop the former captain for a younger, quicker and more flexible alternative.

Others who will see an upside to Beckham’s injury may include England’s 2018 World Cup bid team. If Beckham were in the England squad at the World Cup, he could do little or no lobbying for that cause at the tournament, where all the movers and shakers of the world game will be in attendance. If Beckham does indeed fail to recover now, there must be at least some chance he will be able to go to the tournament in an ambassadorial capacity.

More articles mentioning Beckham

Man Utd-related piece: ‘Joel’s a little confused – why won’t the Knights just act with alacrity?’