Injured Becks could be out for two months

MADRID - DAVID Beckham could be out of action for up to two months with a knee injury.

The Real Madrid midfielder injured a ligament in his right knee in their 1-1 draw with Getafe on Sunday in the Spanish league.

He was expected to have a scan later yesterday.

The 31-year-old Beckham was taken off the field in the 69th minute.

Earlier, teammate Jose Antonio Reyes was carried off on a stretcher with a similar injury to his left knee.

'Beckham's injury is serious, and the other could be something important. We will have to see,' Madrid coach Fabio Capello said on Sunday.

Beckham earned plaudits for his performance in the first- leg 3-2 win against Bayern in Spain.

He had fought his way back into the team despite being ostracised by Capello.

The Italian coach was upset that Beckham had apparently signed for American side LA Galaxy without first telling him.

Beckham, the former England captain, will move to LA Galaxy at the end of the season.

Raul and Guti were included in the squad after recovering from their injury problems, as was Brazilian midfielder Emerson, who also missed the Getafe game.

Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain and Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy made the squad, despite suffering bruising to thigh muscles.

Beckham's injury came just a couple of days before England coach Steve McClaren was scheduled to travel to Munich to watch him play Bayern.

McClaren missed the first leg in Spain, where Beckham had played well in Real's victory.

That performance led to calls for Beckham to be brought back to the national squad.

His most recent appearance for England was against Portugal in the World Cup quarter-finals last June.

After that game, he was dropped from the national team when McClaren took over as coach.

But his recent form for Real has prompted some observers to suggest he should be playing for England again.

One of them was former England striker Gary Lineker.

In his column for The Sunday Telegraph, he said he favoured a temporary recall for Beckham to help England with their important upcoming European Championship qualifying games.

'Beckham is a proven international-class player,' Lineker wrote.

'And while he might have lost some of the sharpness in his legs, he remains one of the top 20 players available to McClaren.

'Of course, bringing back Beckham could only be considered a short-term fix because, when he moves to the United States in the summer, he is going into semi-retirement.

'That is what is happening. I know what it is like because I went through it when I moved into Japanese football.

'The standards will be lower, and he will be a long way from home.'

ASSOCIATED PRESS, LOS ANGELES TIMES