Beckham Doubtful For SuperLiga Opener

Filed at 7:51 p.m. ET

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LOS ANGELES (AP) David Beckham missed another training session with the Los Angeles Galaxy on Monday because of a nagging left ankle injury that left him doubtful for the teams opening game in the SuperLiga tournament.

The inaugural event, featuring four Major League Soccer teams and four teams from Mexicos first division, opens Tuesday night, with the Galaxy hosting defending Mexican League champion Pachuca and Chivas visiting FC Dallas.

Beckham had been scheduled to attend Mondays news conference in Hollywood, but he stayed away to continue treatment. He has yet to participate in full training since joining the team on July 13.

We cant keep running him around, dragging him to press conferences and events, MLS commissioner Don Garber said. We just want him to get better.

However, Beckhams injury didnt prevent him and wife Victoria from attending a celebrity-studded welcome party Sunday night at a downtown Los Angeles museum. The bash, hosted by Tom Cruise and Will Smith, lasted into the early morning hours.

He is a very professional guy, Garber said. Hes not going to do anything that he doesnt think is going to support his ability to get better.

The English superstar played 16 minutes, including four minutes of stoppage time, in a 1-0 loss to Chelsea in his Galaxy debut Saturday night. The highlight was a corner kick he took near the end of the game.

ESPN reported a preliminary overnight rating of 1.2 for the game in the nations largest markets, six times its MLS average this year. When final numbers are released Tuesday, it could be the cable networks highest-rated telecast involving a MLS team. The rating is the percentage watching a telecast among homes that receive ESPN.

Garber said the ratings, sold-out attendance of 27,000, and domestic and international media interest was more than MLS had expected.

It shows that people have a real desire to see the sport get a lot of attention, he said. If you deliver the right things good players, high-quality competition, some interesting side stories than we have a chance to really break out of some of the clutter that exists in pro sports.

But first, the league needs Beckham in the lineup on a regular basis.

Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said that if Beckham is able to play at all Tuesday night, it wouldnt be until late in the game.

We dont want to make it worse, and hes still a little bit sore, the coach said. Were forever hopeful hed be back in a uniform and running out for us as soon as he can next weekend or the following Tuesday.

More realistic for Beckham is the teams second SuperLiga game against Chivas on Saturday. It has been moved to the Los Angeles Coliseum to handle an expected huge crowd.

Beckhams injury has certainly added to the drama of whats been going on here the last week or so and for the next couple of weeks, Garber said.

The commissioner denied that pressure was exerted from sponsors and ESPN to get Beckham into Saturdays game.

That just couldnt be further from the truth, Garber said. Look at what we would look like if we had sponsor or commercial pressures forcing him to play a game, and having him get injured and never playing again. Wed be pretty dumb.

Beckhams biggest problem is swelling in his ankle, Yallop said.

Its really tight in there, he said. He was uncomfortable on Saturday, you could tell. Its going to be a little bit sore when hes playing, but not as sore as it was on Saturday. Thats what were trying to get to.

Beckhams designated stand-in at the news conference, defender Abel Xavier, didnt make it, either. The Galaxy had no players in attendance.

Garber acknowledged the league has been putting a lot of pressure on Galaxy players to do promotion, but his message to the team Monday was practice and beat Pachuca.

The SuperLiga tournament features two four-team groups playing round-robin matches, with the top two teams from each group meeting in the semifinals Aug. 14-15. The final is Aug. 29, with the winning team earning $1 million the largest soccer purse in North America history.

Besides the Galaxy and FC Dallas, the other MLS teams are four-time league champion D.C. United and last years champion Houston. The Mexican club teams are Club America, Chivas, Pachuca and Morelia.

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