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#63435 04/11/02 01:18 PM
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Sure hate to hear this:

England's Beckham 'devastated' by foot injury

LONDON (April 11‚ 2002 8:43 AM EDT ) - England captain David Beckham was said to be "devastated" by the foot injury which was threatening to torpedo his and England's World Cup plans.

The 26-year-old Beckham was stretchered off in tears shortly into Manchester United's European Champions League semifinal, second leg tie against Deportivo La Coruna at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

With England coach Sven Goran Eriksson in the stands, he was left with a broken bone in his left foot the result of a brutal two-footed tackle from the Spanish side's Argentine defender Pedro Duscher.

Beckham will be out of action for up to eight weeks with England's opening World Cup game against Sweden seven and a half weeks away on June 2.

Beckham's father, Ted, told GMTV his son had been "very, very upset" in a telephone call last night.

He said: "David called me from hospital just to let me know how he was.

"To be honest he was devastated. 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."

Beckham Sr. added: "I really feel sorry for him. It's a terrible thing to have happened. But, fingers crossed, he'll be OK."

United officials feared the worst at the time and the extent of the injury was revealed after the game by Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson who said he was doubtful for the World Cup.

"He has a broken metatarsus bone in his foot. It's six to eight weeks."

The metatarsus bones are between the ankle and the toes.

Ferguson continued: "He will be disappointed - you saw the pain he was in. The quarterfinals have been an unfortunate round for him, but he's young and there will be other campaigns.

"He will play in the World Cup again and he will play in the European Cup again."

He added: "I've not spoken to him yet, but I'm sure he's obviously disappointed."

However, Football Association (FA) chief executive Adam Crozier refused to rule Beckham out of this summer's World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

"I have spoken to Manchester United this morning and clearly the first 48 hours are always crucial. Already people have revised things to about six weeks," said Crozier.

"It sounds a little bit more hopeful this morning and hopefully things will improve. We have plenty of time to take stock of the situation.

"Obviously we have a worry about the World Cup but we are hopeful that it can all be sorted out. If at all possible, you would want a player like David Beckham with you."

Eriksson has until May 21, the FIFA deadline, to name his 23-man squad for the World Cup.

A six week lay-off would see Beckham in a race against time to be match fit for the match against Sweden in Saitama

Were he to be sidelined for eight weeks, Beckham would miss Sweden and be extremely unlikely to face Argentina in Sapporo on June 7.

But he could play in England's third Group F game against Nigeria in Osaka on June 12.

Meanwhile, Duscher, the defender who lunged in at Beckham said that the incident had been "unfortunate" and that reaction to the injury would inevitably be overblown.

"Because it's David Beckham and because he is a great player everything is bigger," he said.

"The media and the public give too much importance to the things that happen around him.

"It was unfortunate and I can honestly say it was an accident - I went for the ball," he added in The Daily Telegraph.

Duscher was fortunate to escape a straight red card - though he was later dismissed for a second bookable offense - but Ferguson refused to condemn him.

"Games of football are about tackles and I think the player maybe had to go for it," he said.

Deportivo coach Javier Irureta sympathized with Beckham and insisted he had not sent his players out to injure him.

"We didn't single Beckham out for special treatment." he said.

"I hope David is back on the field for Manchester United and England soon," he said.

Both Eriksson and England fans will dearly hope that is the case for on Beckham's shoulders probably rest England's aspirations to World Cup glory.

[Eek!]

#63436 04/12/02 02:41 AM
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I wish a quick recovery to Mr. Beckham, and hope he gets better by the WC. I dont like him, but I could never wish injury on a player (except for Roy Keane), no matter who they play for


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