Shattered dream: His injured foot protected by a special boot, David Beckham leaving his hotel in Milan on crutches yesterday and, right, arriving at the airportDavid Beckham was recovering in Finland today after specialist surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon - his dream of starring in a fourth World Cup in tatters.
Ironically, the injury occurred while playing for AC Milan, whom Beckham had joined solely in a bid to keep his England career alive. Finnish surgeon Sakari Orava, who operated on the player last night, said there was 'no chance' of Beckham playing in South Africa this summer. Meanwhile, Beckham's wife Victoria flew to Finland from Los Angeles - as questions were raised about a shift in the balance of power in their marriage.
You might imagine that, with a snapped Achilles tendon and his 35th birthday just a few weeks away, David Beckham would wake up in the Mehilainen Turku clinic in Finland today and begin contemplating his retirement from top-flight football. But that's not the way his mind will be working.
Doctors at his Italian club, AC Milan, have told him that, under their care, he should recover and be able to continue playing until he is 40.
They believe he's an 'extraordinary' athlete worth nurturing and that he will make a full recovery over the summer.
And so, while there are some who have speculated that this shattering injury will end his career - triggering a major shift in the balance of power in his relationship with his wife, Victoria, the truth is that this crisis will not make the couple's long-distance marriage any simpler.
While Victoria has been hoping for some time that her husband would wind down his football career after this year's World Cup and spend more time with her in the U.S., the opposite seems to be more likely.
Support: Victoria Beckham arrived at LAX airport in Los Angleles last night on her way to console her husbandFor the former Spice Girl is thriving in LA, with a successful fashion label, celebrity friends, educational stability for their sons and an escape from the jibes she suffered in Britain about being a 'failed solo artist'. This next stage was to be a period where her career came first, not David's.
In a relationship where neither partner has shown any sign of compromising their respective ambitions, this has proved to be very hard.
Public perception has always been that Victoria is a bossy minx who manipulates her husband - but the reality is that it is David who calls the shots. He can be sulky, uncommunicative and domineering - and despite her apparent drive and eagerness for success in her own right, Victoria has little choice but to comply with her husband's wishes.
For sheer commercial reasons - and the couple's obsession with the promotion of lucrative 'Brand Beckham' - this has been non-negotiable.
So, rather than watch his career decline, David is desperate to keep his footballing dreams alive. After surgery on his heel, he will return to Milan to recuperate, only going home to Los Angeles at the end of the Italian season in the summer.
Worried: She was heading to Finland, where Beckham is being treatedMissing a record-breaking fourth consecutive World Cup will be the bitterest blow of his career. Like any top sportsman, he can be selfish during the good times and miserable during the bad. He has admitted being a 'nightmare' when injured.
Although he is unable to play in the World Cup, he is talking about joining the England squad in South Africa to support them.
And so it appears that the Beckhams' jet- setting relationship will continue: Victoria flew to Finland yesterday to be at his hospital bedside and, in the weeks to come as he convalesces, she will continue to fly to Britain to keep their marriage enlivened with their regular 'date nights' at Claridge's hotel in London.
While they persist in pursuing their independent lives, it seems the famously rocky marriage still has a huge sexual charge - Victoria has boasted delightedly to friends that David still chases her around when they are together.
During his Italian sojourn, Victoria has been in the habit of crossing the Atlantic every 14 days or so to see her husband. But as much as David will expect their peripatetic Atlantic-shuttling life to continue, there is bound to be a marked shift in the balance of their relationship.
To date, Victoria's career has come second - it was Beckham's decision to quit European football and join LA Galaxy that originally took them to America.
But Victoria has made a life for herself and their children in California and will not be easily persuaded to uproot, especially now that she has shed her 'former Spice Girl' image with which she was always lumbered in the UK, and instead forged a new career as a fashion designer - and a successful one at that.
On Oscar night, both Simon Cowell's fiance Mezhgan Hussainy and actress Cameron Diaz chose to wear her gowns - and Victoria's ambition for 2010 is to dress Michelle Obama.
This great achievement is certainly possible - everyone who saw Victoria at the Oscar night parties can vouch for how much fun she was having and what an effective networker she is.
Family time: The Beckhams with their sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz. Victoria is keen to keep the family in LA, where the boys are settled at schoolAs a result, Victoria's life is very much grounded in America.
Of course, such a split lifestyle is deeply stressful. And 2009 was generally recognised to have been the toughest year of the couple's ten-year marriage - worse even than 2004, with the furore over David's alleged affair with Rebecca Loos and all the hurt that entailed.
Last year was particularly miserable because the couple were locked in a conflict about David's career and their family life - with Victoria spending a hugely disproportionate amount of time alone with their children.
For example, on Cruz's fourth birthday, Victoria hosted a fancy dress party while David was in Milan. She was alone again for Cruz's fifth birthday last month, when she took a party to the Xtreme Martial Arts World Headquarters in Hollywood.
David missed Brooklyn's tenth birthday, too - with Victoria hosting a party at an indoor skateboard park while David was playing an exhibition match in Qatar. And on their eldest's 11th birthday two weeks ago, Victoria took the children to see Alice In Wonderland in LA while David was in Italy.
She was also alone in Los Angeles for her 35th birthday last April, and they didn't manage to meet up on St Valentine's Day 2009 either - David was with the England squad.
And so this year, it came as no great surprise when Victoria scheduled the presentation of her Fall 2010 collection in New York for Valentine's Day - for she knew in advance that there was no chance of seeing her husband.
Under the circumstances, it's hardly surprising that Victoria suffers from low self-esteem - she has apparently been particularly tortured by pictures of her husband chatting with various attractive women fans at football events.
Indeed, there appears to have been trouble beneath the surface of this oh-so glossy paradise for some time - and David's injury can only compound the problem, especially when he appears unshakeable in his determination to eke out a few more years playing football at the highest level.
Brave face: Beckham also suffered a cut to his cheek in the same matchBefore the weekend's drama, Victoria had been urging her husband to retire - which is most unlike her, as many argue that she is easily ambitious enough for both of them. But perhaps his injury is the straw that has broken the camel's back - and, at last, Victoria has had enough.
The truth is that Victoria doesn't want to live in Milan - which means that she has to accept that she and the kids will have to put up with an absent husband and father for some time longer.
Publicly, her explanation is that their children are settled in school - and there is no point of uprooting them for a move which could be short-term. But it's fair to say that her reasons for staying put are rather more complex.
Until now, David has believed the Milan-Los Angeles split is best for 'Brand Beckham' - he likes Los Angeles for the family, even though the standard of football over there has been nothing short of an embarrassment.
And both of them have said repeatedly that they see their future in America: they enjoy the lifestyle and the relative privacy, and their eldest son, Brooklyn, has in particular taken time to settle into school, and they don't want to disrupt him again.
Meanwhile, talk of having a fourth child - periodically raised in public by David, who would like a daughter - is dismissed with an irritated wave by Victoria. She is reluctant while she has to travel so much.
Any loneliness that she may feel is kept at bay by her mother and father, who spent much of last year in LA supporting their daughter: Jackie manages the household, while Tony is in charge of financial and security matters. Victoria also pays for her younger sister, Louise, to come out to keep her company.
Broken dream: Beckham leaves the pitch after being injured during AC Milan's victory over ChievoThose who know the family say that Victoria has never had many friends, and has fewer than at any time just now.
She fell out with her closest chum Ben Cooke, her hairdresser, after he had relocated to LA to be with her - deeming he had become too big for his boots. She didn't like the way he seemed to be becoming famous as well.
But she has also fostered friendships within the Hollywood A-list elite - namely, Tom Cruise's wife Katie Holmes, Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria and fellow Brit Kate Beckinsale. Her new best female friend is said to be German supermodel Heidi Klum.
And so, Victoria has acclimatised to being apart from her husband for months on end, with many arguing that their marriage - however semi-detached - is in reasonable shape.
Victoria's profile in America has never been higher - and she seems genuinely happier as a result.
She is also said to be eating more than she used to - and she also enjoys a large glass of wine as her daily 'fattening' treat.
And, perhaps most crucially of all, as her career takes off, so her self-confidence is growing - as does the confidence with which she asserts herself within her marriage.
This time, Victoria will not be so easily swayed by her husband's mood swings. And while it is impossible to tell whether David Beckham's injury will end to his football career, the balance of power between husband and wife is showing signs of shifting - but only time will tell how far.
source: dailymail