Prognosis bleak for injured Beckham

The 34-year-old suffered the injury in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo on Sunday and is scheduled to arrive in Finland at around 11 a.m. British time on Monday for surgery.

"To start kicking and playing football (will take) about three months. For maximal performances and maximum kicks and jumps, maybe it takes one month more, 3-4 months before one is able to do light playing," Dr. Sakari Orava told Reuters on Monday.

"It's a total tear of the Achilles tendon. If there is any weakness then... a graft can be taken from the calf and put over the injury site to make it stronger. This kind of procedure is planned."

The World Cup begins in less than three months on June 11.

Beckham, England's most capped outfield player with 115 appearances, had been bidding to play in a fourth World Cup.

England coach Fabio Capello said Beckham's likely absence was a "big blow."

"I am very sad for David that he has suffered this injury," Capello said in a statement on the FA website.

"We have to wait for the results of the scan, but it looks like he is out of the World Cup.

"I spoke with him after the game on Sunday night to offer my support, as did (assistant) Franco Baldini.

"David is a great professional and has worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup, so missing it will be a big blow."

Beckham was getting ready to kick a ball unchallenged late in Sunday's Serie A match when he suddenly pulled up and shouted to the Milan bench "It's broken."

"Today we allow patients to do motion earlier than before. In this case we try to get motion back as soon as possible. The operation takes less than one hour," Orava added.

MINOR MIRACLE

"(After the) the first month, there can gradually be more and more motion and muscle contractions, and very gradually (shifting) from light training to harder training in the second month.

"After that, one is usually able to walk and maybe start running lightly after two months if everything goes fine. All this depends on the type of tear," he added.

Beckham, on loan at Milan from Los Angeles Galaxy for a second time, will miss the Serie A run-in with his side a point behind leaders Inter Milan with 10 games left.

Milan doctors said the former England captain would almost certainly miss the World Cup while chief executive Adriano Galliani reckoned he could be out for around five or six months.

Beckham is due to return to Galaxy in July but Galliani said the Italian club would love to have him back again next season.

"In the dressing room I hugged him and told him that he could stay with us again next year if he wants," Galliani told Sky television.

Renowned surgeon Orava performed a minor miracle in fixing Peter Fill's Achilles in good time for last month's Winter Olympics after the Italian skier injured himself in October.

However, Beckham has even less time before the World Cup and has largely been a substitute under England coach Fabio Capello, who has many other options on the right wing.

Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips and James Milner are among the players able to play there although Tottenham's Aaron Lennon is currently injured.

(Writing by Mark Meadows in Milan; additional reporting by Martyn Herman in London, Editing by John O'Brien and Justin Palmer)