CARSON, Calif. — After two disappointing draws at home, LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham was hoping to help get the club back to its winning ways on the road against Colorado and San Jose.
He never got the chance.
A back injury banished him to the sidelines and kept him away from the Galaxy’s last two matches, and his chances of playing in Monday’s match against the Seattle Sounders appear bleak (10:30 pm ET; ESPN2, ESPN Deportes).
“The pain 10 days ago was bad,” Beckham said after training Friday. “I hate missing games, I hate missing trainings. It’s been a miserable couple of weeks.”
The injury — which Beckham said was a “slight stress fracture of the spine” — kept him apart from the team for the most part until Friday. He participated in training for the first time since the injury first flared up days after the Galaxy’s 2-2 draw with Toronto FC on June 11. However, he was not involved in full training with the club — as the team ran through short-sided games, for instance, Beckham watched from the side as the warm Southern California sun beat down on the training field.
Mostly, Beckham said he’s been doing exercises that target the injured region and could help him recover in the best way possible.
“I’ve been doing a lot of core work, strengthening work because obviously this type of injury, the core is the important part,” he said. “Once that’s right, hopefully it’s healed properly and then I step back in.”
Although the diagnosis may sound daunting, the injury itself is perhaps no more serious than any other type of back ailment.
“It’s a slight stress fracture in the spine. It’s the same kind of rehab as if I had a disc problem or some kind of back problem,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of rehab over the last 10 days, two weeks. It’s just about getting my core strength right so hopefully it holds up.”
The nature of the injury is a bit of a mystery, Beckham admitted.
“I don’t know whether it’s an old injury, a new injury. It’s one of those things that’s just flared up,” he said. “But like I said, it’s not a big problem. I’m back out with the guys training so it’s getting better.”
