By DPA
Los Angeles : A knee injury has ruled David Beckham out for the rest of the US football season, forcing him to miss England’s upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers against Israel and Russia and dealing a blow to his ambitious plans to transform the sport in the US.
Beckham, 32, damaged knee ligaments during Los Angeles Galaxy’s Super Liga final defeat to Mexican club Pachuca on Wednesday.
The injury comes after an earlier ankle ailment kept him on the sidelines for most of the games since his arrival from Real Madrid in July.
In total he has played only 310 minutes in six games for Galaxy at a guaranteed salary of $6.5 million a year. Additional endorsements and bonuses could raise his 5-year earnings to some $250 million, but his arrival is already bearing fruit for the US game.
Soccer merchandise sales have skyrocketed by 300 percent and by 700 percent for the Galaxy. The team’s white or blue jerseys with Beckham’s name and his number 23 have become fashionable in Los Angeles.
Ticket sales for games he has been scheduled to appear in have been among the highest in the history of football in the US. Exhibition matches featuring the English superstar have also been hot sellers – though upcoming friendlies in Canada and Australia are now likely to be cancelled.
England play Israel Sep 8 and Russia four days later for the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Steve McClaren’s side are currently fourth in Group E on 14 points with five games to play. Croatia and Israel have 17 points although Israel have played one game more, while Russia sit on 15.