By Xinhua
Los Angeles : Former England captain David Beckham's injured ankle forced him to miss Los Angeles Galaxy's opening SuperLiga game against Mexican champions Pachuca Tuesday night.
Galaxy beat Pachuca 2-1.
Beckham watched the game in street clothes from a hospitality box with his mother, sister and two of his sons as his new team mates began play in the tournament involving four teams from Major League Soccer and four from Mexico's Primera Division.
The Superliga winners will receive a million dollars.
Galaxy faces the legendary Mexican team Chivas Saturday night at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Because of the injury that has bothered him for more than a month, Beckham again missed practice Monday. Instead he underwent therapy for the injury sustained June 6 while playing for England in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia.
The injury forced Beckham to hobble off the field in his final game with Spain's Real Madrid June 17 and left him unable to practice with his new team mates before making his debut with them Saturday in a friendly against Chelsea.
"He's getting ice, a lot of friction and massage, trying to get the swelling away. That's the thing giving him the most problem," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "It has improved in the last week."
Beckham played 12 minutes Saturday in his much anticipated and highly promoted debut with the Galaxy, who signed him to a five-year contract in January that could bring him as much as $250 million.
Playing Saturday didn't make the ankle injury "any worse," Yallop said.