Beckham undergoes successful surgery

Published>Tue, Mar 16 10 10:23 AM

David Beckham's Achilles tendon surgery was completed on Monday and everything went well, his Finnish surgeon said.

"So far everything is fine," Dr. Sakari Orava said. "The operation went smoothly and nicely."

Orava was asked whether the England midfielder would be able to play in this year's World Cup.

"No, I don't think so....healing takes a long time," he said.

Beckham's foot will be in a cast for around six-eight weeks, after which he can start "more vigorous" physiotherapy.

Beckham is not the first high-profile athlete to go to Finland for surgery with tendon specialist Dr Sakari Orava. There is a long list of athletes who have sought Orava's services, such as AC Milan players Dario Simic and Giuseppe Pancaro, long jumper Andrew Howe, Olympic champion gymnast Jury Chechi and skier Peter Fill.

Like Beckham, Simic tore his Achilles' tendon while playing for Milan in 2004. Simic recalled that he had surgery with Orava in November 2004 and returned three months later.

"It was partially torn and the surgery went very well," said Simic, who now plays for French club Monaco. "I've never had any problems with my Achilles since then."

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