Beckham may be out until November

There is a distinct possibility that David Beckham will miss the entire 2010 MLS season with the LA Galaxy as progress is apparently not in line with a hoped-for return in September. The original estimate was 6 months from the time of the operation (March), and it is now looking likely that November is more realistic.
It is in Beckham's nature to push for an earlier return, but he must realise that a short-term goal of returning quickly, could have long-term unwanted consequences.
I would be more than happy for a longer recuperation if it means we can see him playing for longer in the MLS or even for England and maybe even Milan again.

Beckham World Cup role

No decision has yet been made over whether David Beckham will accompany the England squad to South Africa as an unofficial aide to the team. The Beckham team are anxious that a real role is being offered rather then allowing him be portrayed as a glorified 'cheerleader'. There is no real news about the injury and subsequent rehabilitation, the best we can estimate is that he is sidelined until September. Meanwhile there are rumors that another waning star is considering 'retirement' in the MLS, as Italian great Alessandro Del Piero is supposed to be considering a spell at New York Red Bulls...

AC Milan and LA Galaxy playing well

Milan have recorded home draws against Lazio and Catania and and a 3-2 away win over Cagliari in the past two weeks. In the meantime The Galaxy have recorded 2-0 wins in games against Chivas and Dynamo. Stories of Beckham (other than trite tittle-tattle) are hard to come by, but hopefully we will be getting reports of how the ankle is recovering soon. Fellow England star Wayne Rooney is also nursing an ankle injury although it is thought that his injury is considerably less damaging than Beckham's. Despite being injured, Rooney played a role in the loss against Bayern Munich, and was seemingly cynically targetted by the German side. He did not play in the draw against Blackburn this weekend, for once Sir Alex's tactics have come up short... with hindsight, it would have been better to have Rooney available for the league tie rather than chasing the European silverware.
Ashley Cole is set to return after serious injury, and Joe Cole is also looking to get some serious work done on the pitch for Chelsea in the hope of being in contention for a World Cup squad place. England's next scheduled warm-up game is at Wembley against Mexico on 24th May.

New Stars to grace the MLS??

I say 'new' but of course I mean old, and not quite 'past-it' yet...
Beckham's move to the US has so far failed to attract any real high-class acts to follow suit, the best offering up to now has been Freddie Ljungberg - this could be set to change with Thierry Henry being out of favour at Barcelona. Fellow Arsenal 'has-beens' Pires and Viera have also been tipped for teams in the MLS, but personally I can't see Viera walking away from the richest club in the UK just yet...
Far from being bad news for Beckham, the chance to raise his game against professionals of comparitive standing will be a boost - just see how much better he has been able to perform at AC Milan in the Winter breaks... I still have serious concerns about the administration of the MLS - the possibility of drafting in some real stars must trigger a complete re-think of the crazy system that mirrors American football or Basketball models. If you want to be a league that competes with the best, then your league should be modelled on the EPL, Serie A or La Liga.