Ailing ankle could delay Beckham's Galaxy debut

LOS ANGELES: David Beckham sounded a pessimistic note on Thursday as he discussed his race for fitness ahead of his proposed Los Angeles Galaxy debut against English FA Cup champions Chelsea on Saturday.

"At the moment I'm still having a lot of treatment, at the moment it doesn't look good that I'm going to play," the newly arrived English superstar said in a television interview at halftime of Major League Soccer's All-Star Game in Denver.

Beckham is nursing a left ankle injury that he picked up playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia in June. He aggravated the injury in his last match forSpanish club Real Madrid prior to arriving to take up his new post with Major League Soccer's Galaxy.

"The swelling is still there," he said, acknowledging that the the lure of playing Chelsea in a high profile friendly was great, but not worth risking a setback that would dog him for the rest of the Galaxy's MLS season.

"I'm here for five years," he said. "I'm not here just for the game on Saturday. It's great Chelsea are here, it's great to have a great team and great manager here. But it's more important for me that the ankle is right.

"Maybe I will play some part towards the end of the game if it's all right, but we'll see."

Beckham was passed fit to travel to Denver yesterday, where he was a guest of MLS at the mid-season All-Star Game featuring a fan-selected MLS side taking on Scottish champions Celtic.

"David has gone to Colorado but there is no change in his status," said a Galaxy spokesmam, who said Beckham's condition was being evaluated on a "day-to-day" basis.