FIFA Updates

TURKU, Finland (AP)—David Beckham and his wife Victoria left Finland on a
private jet Wednesday, two days after the former England captain had surgery for
a torn Achilles’ tendon.

The couple made no comments, and it wasn’t immediately clear where they were
heading. Beckham will be sidelined for about six months and miss the World Cup
in South Africa.

Beckham’s doctor, who had said they likely would travel to London and later
to the United States, said Wednesday he “had no idea where they are flying
to.”

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“I did say that perhaps it would not be wise to fly straight off to Los
Angeles … that he should stop somewhere first,” Sakari Orava, the orthopedic
surgeon who performed the operation, told The Associated Press.

Beckham was injured while playing for AC Milan on Sunday and underwent
surgery on Monday. He was on his second loan to the Italian club from Major
League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy.

“He has to take it easy for about a month—that’s how long it will be in a
cast—and then week-by-week he can move the foot and use it more,” Orava said.

Dozens of fans jostled and shouted as the two got into a van outside the
clinic in Turku, Finland, where the 34-year-old Beckham had surgery on a tore
left Achilles’ tendon.

Police pushed back reporters and photographers as the Beckhams left,
escorted by two police cars.

Before Beckham’s departure, Orava said medical teams would review a
rehabilitation program for Beckham and change his dressings and the cast.

Beckham, who flew to the Mehilainen Clinic in Turku on Monday, was joined a
day later by his wife, who also spent the night at the clinic. Newspapers
reported that the couple ordered pizzas to the clinic late Tuesday.

Orava, who has operated on several international sports stars including
runners Haile Gebreselassie, Frank Fredericks and Merlene Ottey, said Beckham
was a stellar patient.

“He was a very easy and good patient. Even the nurses said they wished that
all their patients were like him,” Orava said. “He was very satisfied and
didn’t complain about anything and thanked everyone.”

The tendon was totally torn, ruling out Beckham’s hopes of playing in his
fourth World Cup. The tournament starts June 11 in South Africa. Orava said
generally it takes six months to recover from a total rupture.

AC Milan said Beckham would begin rehabilitation right away.

“The plan includes a complete recovery in six months, at the end of which
he can play again,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that
Beckham shouldn’t put weight on his injured foot for two weeks and can undergo
physical therapy in a pool after six weeks.

“Beckham is a Milan player until June 30, 2010, so all the eventual
contractual obligations will continue to apply,” Milan organizing director
Umberto Gandini said.

Milan physicians followed Beckham to Finland and will coordinate the first
steps of rehabilitation.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sent a get-well message to Beckham and
praised his role as an ambassador for his sport, according to Brown’s spokesman,
Simon Lewis.