Soccer icon David Beckham missed the Los Angeles Galaxy's SuperLiga game against Mexican champion Pachuca on Tuesday night because of an injured left ankle.
Beckham watched the game in street clothes from a box as his new teammates began play in the tournament involving four teams from Major League Soccer and four from Mexico's Primera Division. The winning team will receive 1 million U.S. dollars.
The Galaxy will continue tournament play Saturday night against the legendary Mexican team Chivas at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Because of the injury that has bothered him for more than a month, Beckham again missed practice yesterday. He instead underwent therapy for the injury sustained June 6 while playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifying game against Estonia.
The injury forced Beckham to hobble off the field in his final game with Spain's Real Madrid June 17 and left him unable to practice with his new teammates before making his debut with them Saturday.
"He's getting ice, a lot of friction and massage, trying to get the swelling away. That's the thing the giving him the most problem," coach Frank Yallop said. "It has improved in the last week."
Beckham played nearly 16 minutes Saturday in his much anticipated and highly promoted debut with the Galaxy, who signed him to a five-year contract in January that could bring him as much as 250 million dollars.
Playing Saturday didn't make the ankle injury "any worse," Yallop said.
In Beckham's debut, the Galaxy lost to English powerhouse Chelsea FC, 1-0, in the World Series of Football exhibition tournament, its third consecutive shutout loss. The Galaxy has not scored in its last 285 minutes of play.
Source: Xinhua
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