David Beckham's hopes of playing in a fourth World Cup were left in tatters on Sunday evening after the veteran England star ruptured an Achilles tendon.
The 115-times capped midfielder suffered the injury in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo at the San Siro and the injury is so severe that he will definitely be out between five to eight months, ruling him out of Fabio Capello's squad for South Africa.
The former Manchester United man was in tears as he left the field. He travelled to Finland for surgery on Monday morning but has no chance of regaining fitness by the time Capello's squad depart for South Africa.
Despite not being a first-choice star for his country anymore, he was almost certain to be a part of Capello's 23-man squad and in doing so he would have become the first player ever to play in four World Cups for England.
Ironically, Beckham chose to go on loan to Milan from LA Galaxy for a second successive season to try and further his chances of going to the World Cup, but the dream has ended in tears for the player who remains ten caps short of the England record set by goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
"I am very sad for David that he has suffered this injury," Capello lamented on learning of the news. "We have to wait for the results of the scan, but it looks like he is out of the World Cup.
"I spoke with him after the game on Sunday night to offer my support, as did Franco Baldini (Capello's assistant).
"David is a great professional and has worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup, so missing it will be a big blow."