About 1,000 soccer fans watched David Beckham take part in his first practice with the Los Angeles Galaxy in Carlson, Calif., on Monday.

Beckham, 32, was limited to some stretching and a few kicking drills because of a left ankle injury suffered in England's 3-0 victory over Estonia in Euro 2008 qualifying on June 6. 

David Beckham performs a kicking drill Monday at Galaxy practice.
(K. Djansezian/Associated Press)

"Not bad," Beckham said. "The players were all really pleasant, thankfully.

"One of them came up to me — I cannot remember who it was now — and said: 'Nice to meet you. What's your name?' That really broke the ice."

Beckham is listed as day-to-day, and hoping to make his unofficial MLS debut in Saturday's exhibition match versus Chelsea FC of the English Premier League.

"His ankle is quite swollen," said Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop, a Vancouver native.

Beckham occasionally smiled and waved to fans, many of them wearing replica jerseys with his No. 23.

"Obviously, we want to get him in the team as quickly as we can," Yallop said. "But we don't want to put him in any danger of re-injuring it.

"The swelling has come down. But he's not moving around and feeling as comfortable as he should.

"These types of injuries can quickly heal up and, each day, it's getting better and better. We're hoping it heals quickly and he can have some part in the game on Saturday."

Record-breaking contract

Beckham, who rose to stardom with Manchester United and Real Madrid, and even captained England, shocked the soccer community when he signed a record-breaking, five-year contract with Los Angeles on Jan. 11.

He is being paid $6.5 million US by the Galaxy this season, but will pocket $250 million US in profit-sharing and sponsorship deals over the life of the deal — the richest in soccer history. 

"I have played at the highest level for 15 years and now I think I need another challenge," he said at the time.

"He has been really great with us," Galaxy striker Landon Donovan said. "I think he was a little shy the first day coming in.

"But anybody joining a new team would be a little shy and not sure what to expect at first. He's warmed up a lot and got more lively the last couple days."

Beckham is scheduled to play his first regular-season match for the Galaxy at Toronto's BMO Field on Aug. 5 (CBC, 7 p.m. ET).

With files from the Associated Press