Sir Bobby Charlton is crossing his fingers David Beckham will make it back into an England shirt again.

Beckham's chances of appearing in a record fourth World Cup were shattered last night when he ruptured his Achilles tendon on AC Milan duty against Chievo.

The 34-year-old has already flown to Finland for an operation he hopes will salvage his career.

Beckham hopes to made a ``swift and full recovery'' his spokesman said today.

"David is on his way to Finland to see a specialist and have a scan on the injury,'' a statement on his website, www.davidbeckham.com, read.

"He is understandably upset but wants to thank everyone for their messages of support.

"He hopes to make a swift and full recovery.''

However, consigned to three months on the sidelines at an absolute minimum and probably far longer, there are plenty now questioning whether Beckham's career is at an end.

Certainly Fabio Capello - who spoke with Beckham late last night - might be looking to move on by the time the midfielder has recovered at some stage during the Euro 2012 qualifiers, leaving England's most iconic player marooned on 115 caps, in itself a record for a non-goalkeeper.

Yet, speaking at a major United sponsorship tie-up with Turkish Airlines, Charlton, who watched Beckham emerge from Manchester United's youth system, hopes it is not the end.

"I don't know if we will see him in an England shirt again. I hope so," said the 1966 World Cup winner.

"I have known him for a long time and he gets a lot of pleasure out of playing the game.

"Forget about all the finance and the hyperbole that goes with it, he just loves playing football."

Charlton was fortunate to avoid serious injury throughout his own illustrious career.

That does not mean he is oblivious to the anguish Beckham must now be feeling at what appeared an innocuous incident that had such major consequences.

"If it had happened to me I would have been distraught," reflected Charlton.

"I was lucky with injuries. He has got one of the worst kind.

"It will take such a long time to get right and you don't have much time when you are 34."

For Capello, it formed the first part of what turned out to be a frustrating 24 hours.

In Zurich for a meeting to thrash out the fixtures for Euro 2012 that ultimately reached no resolution, Capello was informed of Beckham's injury almost as soon as it happened.

And both he, and trusted assistant Franco Baldini, were immediately on the phone to offer their support.

"I am very sad for David that he has suffered this injury," said Capello.

"We have to wait for the results of the scan, but it looks like he is out of the World Cup.

"I spoke with him after the game on Sunday night to offer my support, as did Franco Baldini.

"David is a great professional and has worked very hard to be ready for the World Cup, so missing it will be a big blow."

As the enormity of Beckham's injury sank in, Capello then headed off for a near five-hour meeting with fellow Group G counterparts Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales and Montenegro that ended with an impasse that will now be resolved by UEFA, who will hold a random draw in Tel Aviv.

The increased irritation for Capello was that he had reached agreement over England's fixtures, avoiding June matches and starting with a home game in September.

Now those dreaded June fixtures are back on the agenda, when trips to the searing heat of Montenegro and Bulgaria could also be added to what is very much a worst-case scenario.

Before that, Capello will have to find alternatives for the right-sided slot.

In a sense, the Italian has options, even though Aaron Lennon's fitness situation is causing concern given the winger has not recovered from a groin injury he sustained in December.

Theo Walcott and Shaun Wright-Phillips are obvious alternatives. James Milner and Joe Cole are both capable of operating in that area of the pitch, whilst Adam Johnson is bound to come into the reckoning after capping a sparkling few weeks at new club Manchester City by scoring a superb equaliser at Sunderland yesterday.

However, Denis Irwin, a team-mate of Beckham's in the 1999 Champions League final, thinks Capello will struggle to replace the veteran wide-man.

"It is a big blow for England," said Irwin.

"I have never seen a better crosser of the ball and England will miss him on set pieces.

"He would be the ideal man to come on with 25 minutes to go when you have someone like Peter Crouch up front. He would have been the perfect foil."

LA Galaxy general manager and head coach Bruce Arena has reassured Beckham he will be welcome back at the Major League Soccer club and that he remains an important player for them.

Arena said: "Injuries are an unfortunate part of our game and they are even more disappointing when they happen to a player who was so close to realising his dream of representing his nation at this summer's World Cup.

"We will give David our complete support to make sure that he is able to get himself back to full health before he returns to the field.

"David remains an important player for the Galaxy and we look forward to welcoming him back to the club and assisting him in his recovery."