BECKHAM RECOVERY PROGRESSING AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

After a series of setbacks for David Beckham in his recovery from a torn Achilles’ tendon there was good news this weekend—his rehab is coming along ahead of schedule.  The former England captain is now expecting to return to action in September, which will allow him to compete in a good portion of the US Major League Soccer season.  Originally, the prognosis was that he’d miss the entire MLS season but according to Beckham he’s now two months ahead of schedule in his recovery from the injury.

Beckham is going to participate with England’s World Cup team this summer in a non-playing capacity—a role he described as that of a ‘motivator’.   He spoke to the UK media about his return date:

“Probably September. I said a couple of weeks ago it would be November but the way it's going - I'm sure there will be setbacks along the way but if it continues to go well - hopefully I'll be back at the start of September.”

“It's still a long road, I've got a while to go before I even run again. It's going to take time, it's an injury that needs to heal and make sure it's right before I push it in any way but it's going well so far.”

Beckham suffered the injury in March while playing for AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A league.  He said his first thought when it happened was his World Cup fate, but is happy to be participating in a limited role:

"My first thought was the World Cup. I knew what I'd done straight away and how bad it would be.”

"But that's sport - it can happen to anyone at any time. I look back and think 'should I have pushed myself so much in the last couple of years?' but I wouldn't change anything. I've always said that I would love to be involved but that's totally down to the manager and his coaching staff because it's what's best for the team and what's best for the camp.”

"I've spoken to the manager and to (Capello's assistant) Franco Baldini and they feel that having me there would be a positive thing for the team, from a motivational point of view. We haven't sat down yet and talked about specifics and what my role will be but I'd love to be there with the team. Whatever the manager wants me to do, I will do that.''
He’s also optimistic about England’s chances in the competition after winning 9 of 10 games in qualifying:

"I think there's potential, we wouldn't have qualified like we did if there wasn't a good chance we could be successful. There's still a lot of hard work to be done, we know we've got the right set-up and the team is right, so that's the biggest thing.''

England begins their World Cup group play in South Africa on Saturday, June 12 against the USA. Current soccer betting odds have England installed as a -200 favorite, with takeback on the US priced at +475.  England will then face Algeria in the second game of the group play stage.