CARSON, Calif. — David Beckham is in jeopardy of missing his second consecutive LA Galaxy match Saturday when the club visits San Jose (6:30 pm ET, Fox Soccer).
“I would think David is unlikely to play this week,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said after training Tuesday.
Beckham missed the Galaxy’s 3-1 victory at Colorado on Saturday after back spasms sidelined him toward the end of last week. Beckham was not listed in the injury report at the end of the week and his exclusion from the match in Commerce City surprised many.
“This thing came up all of the sudden, at the end of last week,” Arena said. "We made a decision and we have to smart about it and did that."
On the team’s latest injury report, Beckham is listed as questionable. He sat out of practice on Tuesday, but did participate in some light drills on the side. When the team ran through short-sided games, though, he sat on the sideline and watched.
Aside from the pain and discomfort Beckham feels, part of the issue is to maintain his health and not risk further, potentially more damaging injury by forcing him to come back sooner than he may be able to, Arena said.
“We have a lot of games ahead so we’re not going to push anything with anybody,” Arena said.
Through Saturday’s match, Beckham has missed four of the Galaxy’s 18 games. His other three absences: He was suspended from one match, missed another due to rest and another due to his participation on a testimonial match in England.
Thus, this is the first absence directly related to injury this year.
Arena said the team would be cautious in bringing him back even if it means more games on the sideline for the Englishman.
“That will continue to be our strategy, to bring him back when he’s ready to play,” Arena said. “If that takes another week, it takes another week.”
