Injured David Beckham to Miss Entire MLS Season

Already out of the World Cup, David Beckham confirmed Monday that he'll likely miss the entire Major League Soccer season (the fourth of his five-year commitment ) as well due to the torn Achilles' tendon he suffered last month while on loan with AC Milan.

The news adds another chapter to the strange saga of disappointment and redemption that has made Beckham's stay in the U.S. such compelling theater. Now one year after repairing his relationship with Landon Donovan and making amends with many fans by helping the Los Angeles Galaxy to a rebirth that landed them in the MLS Cup final, Beckham will be a spectator once again.

"I won't be running for another three months. So I will be playing again in, probably, November," when the MLS playoffs end, he told ABC as he made the rounds of the morning talk shows in New York City. "This is an injury that will take time to heal. It is only six weeks after the surgery. I want to push it, but with this kind of injury you can't. You have to wait for it to heal and then move on. It is still repairing so I can't stretch it too much."

Beckham faced considerable criticism during his mega-hyped first season in Los Angeles (2007) when a bad ankle limited him to just five games. But he managed 25 starts in 2008 and last year played well after returning from his first stint in Milan. Surely the thought of returning for a legitimate shot at the championship that slipped away last November must have been tantalizing even for someone with Beckham's accomplishments, but now the Galaxy will have to win it without him. They're doing fine so far, leading the league at 4-0-1.

In a Monday interview with MLS' website, Beckham said he started therapy only 10 days ago. "At the moment it's just about getting motion back into the [left] ankle, the tendon, because obviously it's still repairing. I can't stretch too much. I have to wear a boot every day ... It's not easy moving around. You have to protect it. It's kind of stuff like that. You kind of get the mobilization back into the ankle and deep tissue massage, which is not fun."

As far as his future in Los Angeles, Beckham was happy to commit to the city, if not the team.

"I love living in L.A.," he said on Good Morning America. "We've been there for three years. My sons go to school there. They're really happy. My wife obviously loves it there as well." Appearing on The View, Beckham said, "We're not going to moving back [to England] any time soon."

MLS is at the point where it doesn't need Beckham. The novelty had sort of worn off anyway, and there are plenty of compelling reasons to continue to pay attention to the Galaxy. But he remains a very good player, especially by MLS standards, and he injected a bit of quality and class that will be missed.