David Beckham returned to action after
six months out with injury, playing as a second-half substitute in LA
Galaxy's 3-1 win over Columbus Crew.
The former England
captain, 35, had not played since rupturing his Achilles playing on loan
for AC Milan in March which kept him out of the World Cup. But he came on as a 70th-minute substitute before picking up a yellow card for a poor foul on Emmanuel Ekpo. "I'm happy to come through it. I felt good and finished strongly," he said. Beckham, whose last game for the MLS franchise was in November, came on for Juninho with Galaxy three goals clear. "I've never been out of the game for such a long time," said Beckham. "It's been a quick recovery and I'm happy with that. I thought I was ready for 90 minutes four months ago but after 10 minutes on the field, I felt like I was dying." The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder also reiterated his desire to carry on playing for England, even though boss Fabio Capello said he was "too old" for a recall before backtracking on his decision. Beckham has even put himself in the frame for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro at Wembley on 12 October.
Beckham also admitted he questioned whether he would recover from the injury. "As positive a person as I am when I did the injury there are doubts that go through your mind. Am I ever going to play again?" he added. "Being back out there and being fit again and with the team it makes it sweet. When you have a serious injury like this it does cross your mind." Edson Buddle, Dema Kovalenko and Jovan Kirovski scored to help the Galaxy regain the top spot in Major League Soccer's Western Conference, three points ahead of Real Salt Lake. | |||
