Soccer: Getting back in white

When David Beckham was in serious doubt for the 2002 World Cup because of a broken foot, The Sun newspaper printed a picture of the appendage in question and asked readers to touch it and pray for his speedy recovery.

Maybe it worked because Beckham lined up for England's albeit inglorious campaign.

Curiously, neither The Sun nor even the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle have yet printed a picture of Simon Elliott's calf and asked readers to pray for his speedy recovery.

"I don't think I'm in that kind of company," Elliott said with a chuckle. "I think I'm a bit further down the food chain."

The 32-year-old All Whites midfielder will miss Fulham's opening day visit to Old Trafford tonight (NZT) to play Manchester United and there is doubt as to when he might be seen again considering he has only recently had a cast removed from his leg.

Elliott injured a tendon near his calf in the pre-season 1-0 win over Maccabi Petah Tikva last month and has since missed the win over Borussia Monchengladbach and draws with Real Madrid and Portugal's Boavista.

"It's not so good," Elliott admitted this week from his base in west London. "I have started walking around but I'm not really sure when I will be able to play - it's still a few weeks away, I guess."

As any sportsperson will tell you, there's never a good time to get injured and Elliott now faces not only a battle to get fit again but to force his way back into a Fulham side determined to finish in the top half of the Premiership.

Cottagers boss Chris Coleman surprised many when he signed Elliott on a free transfer from MLS side Columbus Crew in January's transfer window and the 50-cap All White went on to play 12 Premiership games and one FA Cup tie, when they were knocked out by minnows Leyton Orient.

Although he didn't play in the game because of injury, one of the highlights of his first taste of the Premiership was the 1-0 win over local rivals Chelsea at a time when the side was fighting relegation and Coleman was battling to hold on to his job.

"The fans invaded the pitch and Chelsea fans invaded the pitch and it was all happening there for a few minutes," Elliott recalled. "There's a lot of pride and passion in Fulham but you don't normally see that from Fulham supporters. Normally they are relatively genteel as far as Premiership supporters go but they were out there singing and dancing and absolutely loving it. As a player, it's great to see that kind of passion."

Elliott got a taste of life on the other side when he watched the All Whites' 1-1 draw with Charlton as a spectator, an experience that strengthened his resolve to be part of next year's World Cup qualifying campaign.

There was doubt about his international future after he was left out of Ricki Herbert's expanded All Whites squad last year, which left Elliott dumbfounded.

But Herbert and Elliott met in London recently and everything seems to have been sorted out.

"I've always wanted to play for New Zealand and that will always be the case," Elliott explained. "I hadn't seen them play for a while and was impressed with how well they did against Charlton."

Elliott will no doubt feature prominently in Herbert's World Cup plans next year but his first priority is getting fit for Fulham.

It won't be greeted with the collective sigh England supporters let out when Beckham featured at the World Cup four years ago but it's just as important for Elliott.