Ryan Johnston

Follow TFC and the Champions League with Twitter. I will update from training, on match day and whenever news breaks.

Fabio Capello no longer has a David Beckham dilemma.

The injury to David Beckham is sickening, but it allows Fabio Capello to do his job.

Much like it claimed Julius Caesar in 44 BC, the notorious Ides of March stabbed its blade in to the heart of English nostalgia on Sunday.

A seemingly innocuous slip in the centre circle of one of the great Italian soccer cathedrals ended the World Cup pipedream for David Beckham. It was also two weeks to the day that Michael Owen limped off at Wembley after a ruptured hamstring finished his season and the World Cup.

While the injuries and outcomes were downright sickening for two players that have carried the mantle of representing their country with class, it could not have gone better for manager Fabio Capello.

The Italian no longer needs to pander to the nostalgic masses worldwide and invite a pair of players who were nothing more than warm bodies with a polished past. Beckham and Owen were Plan B; it is time to proceed once again with Plan A.

On an evening where most of the game said it was sorry to hear the news, it was Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill who anted up what everyone else was thinking.

"On the other hand, as you say, if there is an opportunity there, (Aston Villa) have one or two players who actually play and can excel in (Beckham's) position."

As always, Roy Keane was quick to follow:

Perspective is often delivered without any regard for feelings. In the case of Beckham it should also help with the healing.

Some TFC perspective

In the last three games for Toronto FC the team has scored one goal and had three players ejected.

Preseason is hardly the time to build as players work on timing, fitness, etc. But Toronto is in the precarious situation of playing with a delicate squad number right now.

Preki came to Toronto from Chivas with the reputation as a stickler for discipline. That said; under his watch Chivas had 63 cautions and seven ejections in 2009 -- with the opposition representing 49 and nine.

The Reds under Chris Cummins: 57 cautions and three ejections. Its opponents were 35 and one.