Real Salt Lake notebook: Kyle Beckerman hopes for post-World Cup return

WASHINGTON — Kyle Beckerman is going to play it safe with the torn tendon in his left foot.

After seeing two different foot and ankle specialists in the Baltimore area in the past few days, RSL's captain is choosing door No. 3.

He's going to aggressively rehab the injury and hope to be back on the field sometime after the two-week break for the World Cup, which begins June 10.

"If there was a more confident surgery, maybe you do it," said Beckerman.

After consulting with doctors, Beckerman had three options for the injury.

One doctor said he could tack the tendon back to the bone, surgery that requires about six to eight weeks to recover.

Another doctor recommended a surgical procedure that involves reattaching the tendon, which includes a three-month recovery.

Beckerman's final option is to simply rest it and rehab it. In the end, it's what he prefers.

"That's what I want to do. (Surgery) just wasn't something that made me feel comfortable about doing," said Beckerman. "The encouraging thing is I'm already a week and a half into rehab."

Beckerman injured the foot in RSL's 2-1 win at Chivas USA on May 22. He's hoping to be healthy for San Jose's visit to Rio Tinto Stadium on June 25.

"I can play through pain. If that's the case, I should be all right. I'm a fast healer," he said.

YOUNGSTERS DEBUT: With the World Cup getting under way next week, there's been a buzz in the national soccer media about some of the future stars of American soccer.

One of the players under the microscope is 16-year-old Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil. Widely regarded as one of the best young players in the U.S., Gil has been compared to Landon Donovan at this stage in his career.

On Wednesday night in the nation's capital, Gil made his official RSL debut. The teenager replaced Jean Alexandre to start overtime against D.C. United — largely because his coach had a hunch that nearly paid off.

"I just told him I had a feeling he was going to win the game for us, I don't know why, I just did, and I thought he did very well," said Kreis.

Gil nearly made his coach look like a genius, but his equalizing header in the 118th minute was cleared off the line.