Originally published July 5, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified July 5, 2007 at 2:04 AM

Beckham to attempt to play July 21 match

David Beckham

LONDON — David Beckham indicated he is confident he can recover from an ankle injury in time for his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy in a July 21 exhibition match against English Premier League power Chelsea.

The midfielder originally injured his left ankle playing for England in a European Championship qualifier June 6. The injury flared again when he played for Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

Beckham, 32, decided to have an ankle scan during a stopover in London, and it was determined he has an injured ligament. His agent, Simon Oliveira, said Wednesday the scan showed "no long-term damage."

"With the right rest and rehabilitation he should be training as planned when he arrives in the States," he added.

Beckham helped Real Madrid win the league title and also has regained his place on the England team. He is to be introduced as a Galaxy player July 13 at the Major League Soccer team's stadium in Carson, Calif.

In MLS matches Wednesday, D.C. United took the Eastern Conference lead with a 1-0 win at Kansas City; host FC Dallas beat CD Chivas USA 2-0; Toronto FC won 2-1 at Real Salt Lake; Los Angeles beat visiting Chicago 2-0; and Columbus and Colorado played to a scoreless draw.

Note

• Defending champion Brazil and Chile secured the last two quarterfinal spots at Copa America, South America's championship, meaning the U.S. team — which played in the event as an invited guest — won't play again after today's match with Colombia.

Officials from the South American soccer federation, CONMEBOL, were not pleased the United States left Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley and other top players off the team it sent to Copa America.

"We like for the continent's most important competition to be respected with the best players," CONMEBOL general secretary Eduardo Deluca said.

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