Beckham buoyant after successful surgery
Reuters - Tuesday 16 March 2010, 18:56
HELSINK - David Beckham said he was
looking forward to returning to full fitness as soon as possible
after spending a second day at a Finnish hospital where he
underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon.
Monday's operation was deemed a success but the England
winger's hopes of playing in June's World Cup in South Africa
look over.
"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for
their messages of support, they mean a lot to me," Beckham,
England's most capped outfield player with 115 appearances, said
in a statement on his website on Tuesday.
"The operation was a success and I'd like to thank Dr. Orava
and all the medical staff who looked after me during my time in
Finland. I'm feeling positive and now concentrating on getting
back to full fitness over the coming months."
The small Finnish seaport city of Turku has turned into an
international media circus because of the 34-year-old's visit to
top specialist Dr. Sakari Orava.
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat wrote: "The centre of the world: Turku"
in its Tuesday edition. "Superstar David Beckham's surgery
turned eyes to Finland."
Beckham, who suffered the injury in AC Milan's 1-0 win over
Chievo on Sunday, was the perfect patient, Orava said.
"(His mood) was pretty good ... he was smiling and there was
no pain. He was really happy," Orava told Reuters.
"He's a nice patient, he's very satisfied with everything,
behaves well and doesn't complain."
Orava, who has been operating on top athletes such as Haile
Gebrselassie, Josep Guardiola and Merlene Ottey for the past 25
years, told Reuters on Monday Beckham would likely miss the
World Cup due to the injury.
With his foot to be kept in a cast for 6-8 weeks, Beckham is
unlikely to regain full fitness ahead of the tournament, which
begins on June 11. He had been bidding to play in a fourth World
Cup.
Such is Beckham's status in Britain that even Prime Minister
Gordon Brown said he had written to wish him a speedy recovery.
Beckham's visit put Finnish media into overdrive in this
small Nordic country, which is more known for its love of ice
hockey and winter sports than soccer.
"The Drama named David Beckham" tabloid Iltalehti wrote.
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