Superstar midfielder David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy is listed as doubtful to play the opening match of the inaugural SuperLiga tournament.

The SuperLiga features four Major League Soccer teams (Galaxy, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo) and four Mexican teams (Chivas, Club America, Morelia, Pachuca) in a month-long round robin worth $1 million US to the winner. 

David Beckham takes a corner kick in Saturday's unofficial Galaxy debut.
(Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)

Beckham, 32, missed Monday's practice because of a left ankle injury and may sit out Tuesday's tournament opener between L.A. and defending Mexican League champion Pachuca.

If Beckham, who joined the Galaxy just 10 days ago, plays at all, it will likely be for limited minutes as a late substitute.

"We don't want to make it [ankle injury] worse and he's still a little bit sore," said Galaxy coach Frank Yallop, a Vancouver native. "We are forever hopeful he can be back in a uniform and running out for us as soon as he can, [be it] next weekend or the following Tuesday."

Beckham skipped Monday's SuperLiga media conference in Hollywood, opting to receive treatment because he has yet to engage in a full practice with the Galaxy.

Beckham did, however, attend last Thursday's MLS all-star game versus Celtic FC and played 16 minutes for the Galaxy in a 1-0 exhibition loss to Chelsea FC before a capacity crowd of 27,000 at the Home Depot Center on Saturday.

"We cannot keep running him around, dragging him to press conferences and events," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "We just want him to get better."

"He is a very professional guy," Garber continued. "He is not going to do anything that he does not think is going to support his ability to get better."

No pressure to play

Although Garber admitted that Beckham's injury has "certainly added to the drama of what has been going on here the last week or so and for the next couple of weeks," he bristled at the suggestion that the British superstar was pressured into playing.

"That just couldn't be further from the truth," Garber said. "Look at what we would look like if we had sponsor or commercial pressures forcing him to play a game and having him get injured and never playing again — we would be pretty dumb."

Beckham injured the ankle in England's 3-0 victory over Estonia on June 6, and it has hampered him ever since.

"He was uncomfortable on Saturday, you could tell," Yallop said, referring to Beckham's ankle. "It's going to be a little bit sore when he's playing, but not as sore as it was on Saturday."

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 the Galaxy on Jan. 11.

He is earning $32.5 million US in salary but, combining profit sharing and endorsements, will pocket $250 million US over the life of the deal — the richest in soccer history.

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