Soccer: British papers react to Beckham's 'sickening' injury

As soccer star David Beckham recovers in Finland after surgery to repair his "totally torn" left Achilles' tendon, speculation about his future in soccer continues to dominate sport pages in Britain's newspapers.

The 34-year-old midfielder had hoped to become the first England player to appear in four World Cups but the injury, suffered in the dying moments of of AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo Verona this weekend, appears to have put paid to his ambitions.

Writing in his column for The Sun, former England international Ian Wright begged Beckham to accept an offer to travel with the squad to the World Cup, which starts in June.

"I felt sick to the core when I saw you suddenly pull up," he wrote. "Like everyone else I was clinging to the hope there could be a miracle cure."

Wright said Beckham deserved to be in the squad after sacrificing "everything" to prove his worth to coach Fabio Capello.

"It's just a crying shame you won't be involved on the pitch, David."

Sir Bobby Charlton, a World Cup winner in 1966 and the highest goalscorer for both England and Beckham's old club Manchester United, feared for Beckham's future in the sport.

In the Telegraph, Charlton wrote: "My international career ended on the pitch for England when we lost to West Germany in the World Cup in 1970.

"David's looks to have ended a different way and I'm sure that is something that he will regret."

The Guardian's sport blogger Rob Smyth took a different view, asking his readers to employ some perspective.

"The romantic notion of him seizing the day and inspiring England to glory was poppycock," wrote Smyth, who argued that the uncertainty surrounding the match fitness of star winger Aaron Lennon was of more significant concern to coach and country.

He lamented however that since the story was about Beckham, "a national institution," it was inevitable that news of the injury would be widely reported.

"There will be a certain relief that, with the exception of his retirement, this is the last time the Beckham circus will overshadow what occurs on the football field," he wrote.

The Telegraph's Ian Chadband said the injury could ensure his international career would end in failure.

But Chadband praised Beckham's dedication and his ability to recover from setbacks.

"We ought to persuade ourselves there really is no way back," he wrote. Recovering from major Achilles surgery and returning to action in his 36th year, he cannot possibly be the player of old."

"Now watch him get back out there and prove once again we are talking goldenballs."

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star was on his second loan stint at AC Milan from the Los Angeles Galaxy as he tried to boost his chances of making Capello's 23-man World Cup squad. He has scored 17 goals for England and made 115 appearances, second in England history behind only goalkeeper Peter Shilton's 125 from 1970-90.

Beckham was England's captain from November 2000 through the 2006 World Cup.

The injury was yet another blow for Major League Soccer, already facing the threat of a players' strike ahead of the season opener on March 25. Beckham is the league's highest-paid player with a US$32.5 million, five-year contract - and its biggest draw.

- NZ HERALD ONLINE, AP