David Beckham Left AC Milan For Surgery

Soccer fans and online sports betting enthusiasts are having now a problem with their favorite team AC Milan when David Beckham's left Achilles' tendon was totally torn, and the doctor who performed the surgery said the England midfielder is expected to be out of action for about six months.

The soccer superstar David Beckham twisted his left ankle during the final minutes of AC Milan's 1-0 Serie A win against Chievo last Sunday and limped off the field before being stretchered away in pain and in tears. Although David Beckham is doing well after an operation at a Finnish hospital to fix his ruptured Achilles tendon and will leave with his wife Victoria Beckham. David Beckham's leg is expected to be in a cast for three to four weeks and in a support for around the same length of time, but the on-loan LA Galaxy midfielder already began practicing to walk with crutches.

The injury shattered David Beckham's hopes of becoming the first English player to appear in four World Cups and put his future on the national team in doubt. He will miss most of the MLS season. According to a Milan physician Jean Pierre Meersseman told Italy's Sky TV that David Beckham flew to Finland for surgery, where he will be treated by specialist surgeon Dr. Sakari Orava.

Dr. Sakari Orava said it would be four months before David Beckham could even try to run and six months before he could play again — in other words, mid-September, when the Galaxy will have only a half-dozen games remaining in what would be Beckham's fourth season in Major League Soccer.

Unfortunately, but the injury is so severe that David Beckham already knows he will not be going to South Africa World Cup which strats hat June 11, 2010 with his country this summer for a competition that would have given him the chance to close in on goalkeeper Peter Shilton's international appearance record of 125 caps.

David Beckham was scheduled to rejoin the team after the World Cup, but now it looks as though he might miss all of the 2010 MLS season. Ruptured Achilles tendons are no joke, and one has to wonder now how much incentive Beckham will have to go through a long rehabilitation just so he can finish his Galaxy contract in 2011.

Meanwhile, Fabio Capello, England's coach, told reporters that the injury was "a big blow" for David Beckham, significantly not stating that it was a big blow for England, considered one of the World Cup favorites. Reaction in the English media to David Beckham's absence from the South Africa's World Cup was consistent.

Most outlets expressed sympathy for him, but most also agreed with the BBC that David Beckham would have been little more than "a fringe player" in South Africa, "someone who — barring exceptional circumstances — would not have started any game at the World Cup."

As replacements go, some would argue that Aaron Lennon's fitness is more of a worry than David Beckham's unavailability. Aaron Lennon was the reason David Beckham was relegated to the bench in recent England games. He offers searing pace and more often than not an end product. He would be sorely missed should he not travel to South Africa.