By Ian Chadband and Patrick Sawer
David Beckham is 'devastated' at the prospect of missing the World Cup after breaking a bone in his left foot, his father revealed today.
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Becks knows it's trouble (AlexLivesey/Allsport) |
'He was very, very upset and he said he was in a lot of pain and that he was in plaster. He said he was more upset because of what games were coming up.'
Mr Beckham added: 'I really feel sorry for him. It's a terrible thing to have happened. But, fingers crossed, he'll be OK.'
The England captain's absence from the tournament could also cost him £10million in lost sponsorship deals.
He was stretchered off in agony last night during Manchester United's Champions League quarter-final victory over Deportivo La Coruna at Old Trafford.
He was the victim of a reckless tackle by Argentinian 'enforcer' Aldo Duscher and is now doubtful for England's matches in Japan in which they face Argentina.
Beckham's left foot was also injured in another bad tackle by a Deportivo player in last week's first leg clash in Spain. Last night he was taken to a Manchester hospital accompanied by his father, wife Victoria and son Brooklyn.
Beckham, 26, was told that he has a broken metatarsal bone, an injury which normally takes between six and 10 weeks to heal. England's first World Cup game is only 50 days away.
England coach Sven Goran Eriksson, who was watching the game in Manchester, now fears his inspirational captain could miss England's first match against Sweden on 2 June and the other two group matches in the so-called 'Group of Death' against Argentina and Nigeria.
Sir Alex Ferguson is concerned that Beckham will be out for the rest of the domestic season and will miss the crucial final games of their Premiership and Champions League assault. The Manchester United manager also conceded that Beckham is now very doubtful for the World Cup.
'The metatarsal bone is a delicate area and the estimation of eight weeks out wouldn't be inaccurate,' said Sir Alex. 'You saw the pain he was in but he's young and there'll be other campaigns. He'll play in a World Cup again and a European Cup again.'
Beckham will today undergo further tests at United's Carrington training complex. His teammates, like every England fan, are meanwhile left praying for his speedy recovery.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said: 'Hopefully, he'll heal quickly and of course we're all thinking of him. I'm really disappointed for Becks. It's a massive blow, not just for England, but for United as well. He's been our best player, scoring goals and making them for everyone else.'
Only yesterday morning, England's other talisman, Michael Owen, was feared to have broken his foot during Liverpool's Champions League defeat in Germany, but by the evening it was revealed he had only suffered bruising and would be fit to play this weekend.
Beckham's injury however is far more serious.
Last week, in La Coruna, Beckham's ankle had been injured by what had looked an even worse challenge, but it did not stop him returning for the second leg.
Yet such was the look on Beckham's face this time, with tears welling in his eyes and head clasped in both hands as he was carried behind the goal amid sympathetic applause, he obviously sensed the worst.
Robbie Earle, the former Wimbledon star who once suffered a broken metatarsal which sidelined him for eight weeks, could not offer any comfort as he told ITV: 'That's a massive problem.
'The problem with the broken bone there is that you can't really help its healing. You stick it in plaster and you've got to let nature take its course.
'It could be eight weeks, it could be ten and even then you don't know what that first tackle when you come back is going to do to the foot.'
Beckham's last World Cup adventure in France four years ago was famously ended by Argentinian theatrics when Diego Simeone collapsed as the England player petulantly flicked out his foot.
Beckham was sent off, leaving him to carry the can for England's exit. Ironically this time it was Simeone's compatriot Duscher, 23, who did the damage.
Deportivo's coach Javier Irureta today denied suggestions that Beckham had been singled out.
'Sincerely, he wasn't a target. That's not our style. Genuinely, I hope he recovers quickly and I'm really sorry about what's happened,' he said.
At least history offers hope, though. Before the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Kevin Keegan, then England's equivalent of Beckham, was ruled out through injury, but recovered in time to take part in the latter stages - even if it was with no great distinction.
With this World Cup being an even more drawn-out affair over four weeks, Beckham could conceivably still play a part.
Without match sharpness, though, it would have to be a considerable gamble.
Beckham's history persuades us to rule out nothing.
This is the man who had his effigy burned only four years ago yet reinvented himself so completely that he was hailed as our sporting saviour when almost single-footedly shooting England towards Japan with his miraculous late goal in the final qualifier against Greece last year.
