9:12am Tuesday 16th March 2010
DAVID Beckham last night underwent a successful operation on a fully ruptured left Achilles tendon and is expected to make a full recovery.
Beckham’s chances of appearing in a record fourth World Cup were shattered on Sunday night when he ruptured his Achilles tendon on AC Milan duty against Chievo.
But the 34-year-old’s hopes of resuming his career were boosted by a successful operation in Finland.
‘‘Following a scan, David Beckham’s left Achilles was found to be ruptured,’’ his spokesman said in a statement.
‘‘Professor Sakari Orava performed a successful operation today, repairing the tendon completely.
‘‘David is expected to make a full recovery. Professor Sakari Orava will conduct a further examination tomorrow, when a programme for rehabilitation will be finalised.
‘‘David wants to thank everyone who has given him messages of support – it meant a lot to him.’’ Beckham’s rehabilitation will be boosted by news Fabio Capello hopes the midfielder can add to his 115 caps in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
‘‘We hope he will be fit for the next year,’’ the England manager told Sky Sports News.
‘‘I hope he will be fit for the Euros, next qualifying.
‘‘He’s always one of the best players in England.’’ Professor Sakari Orava, Beckham’s surgeon, anticipates it will be a minimum of six months before the former England captain can play again.
‘‘It was a total tear,’’ Professor Orava told Sky Sports News. ‘‘It’s only a guess, but it’s four months to running and a couple more months to kicking and jumping.
‘‘He was quite happy after the operation.
‘‘(And) I think that he understood from the beginning that it’s a serious injury and he’s not able to play (at the World Cup).’’ Asked whether Beckham can play at the top level again, Professor Orava added: ‘‘It’s difficult to say whether he has decided to come back at the same level as before, but usually people can do what they have done before, if everything goes well.’’ For Capello, it formed the first part of what turned out to be a frustrating 24 hours.
In Zurich for a meeting to thrash out the fixtures for Euro 2012 that ultimately reached no resolution, Capello was informed of Beckham’s injury as soon as it happened.
Capello headed off for a near five-hour meeting with fellow Group G counterparts Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro that ended with an impasse that will now be resolved by UEFA, who will hold a random draw.
The increased irritation for Capello was that he had reached agreement over England’s fixtures, avoiding June matches and starting with a home game in September.
Now those dreaded June fixtures are back on the agenda, when trips to the searing heat of Montenegro and Bulgaria could also be added to what is very much a worstcase scenario.
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