England star David Beckham will miss this summer’s World Cup with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder suffered the injury tonight while playing on loan for Serie A power AC Milan in a 1-0 win over Chievo. He was getting ready to kick the ball completely unchallenged when the injury occured. An Italian TV reporter claims Goldenballs told the staff “It’s broken, it’s broken” as he was stretchered off in tears.

Beckham will have an operation in Finland tomorrow, and then have to go through three or four months of grueling rehab. What that means for sure is that he’ll miss the World Cup in South Africa, and England’s group match vs. the U.S. But at 34-years-old, it raises the question of whether he’ll ever play again?

This isn’t a hamstring or an arm; this is a serious injury that will take long, arduous months of rehab. And Beckham won’t have a carrot at the end of a stick to keep him going. Will the prospect of playing in MLS be enough to get him to even bother?

How will it impact the England-U.S. tilt? How much coin will it cost MLS, which still got an attendance boost from Goldenballs? Sad you won’t see Galaxy star Landon Donovan facing off with his L.A. teammate in South Africa? Share yoir thoughts…