David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy debut against Chelsea is in doubt after the England star played only a limited part in his first training session on Monday.

The 32-year-old is in line to make his bow against the Blues on Saturday but has been nursing left ankle ligament damage he suffered during England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Estonia in June and subsequently aggravated as Real Madrid won the Spanish league title.

The ankle swelled up during the flight from London to Los Angeles last Thursday and despite a weekend of massage and treatment, Beckham could not take a full part in Galaxy's open training session at the Home Depot Center on Monday night in front of around 2,000 fans.

Speaking after training, Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop said the situation was being monitored regularly.

"Right now, he's day to day," Yallop said.

"He's not done too much the last two days. His ankle is quite swollen but we're hoping it recovers quickly and he can have some part in the game on Saturday."

After jogging briefly with the squad at the start of the session, Beckham split from the main group to work individually with a trainer, doing some stretching and balance work to strengthen his ankle.

He then went through short passing drills with fellow Galaxy injury victim Chris Albright before watching on as the rest of the squad took part in a short practice match.

At the end of the session, the midfielder was all smiles as he left the pitch with the rest of the squad but did not speak to the media.

Saturday's friendly against Chelsea is already sold out and will be broadcast live across the United States by cable sports network ESPN, who have been strongly promoting the game with plans for using 19 cameras at the Home Depot Center, including a Beckham cam.

However Yallop, whose side kick-off the World Series of Football tournament tonight against Mexican side Tigres, insisted that there would be no pressure on Beckham to play if he was not ready.

"Obviously we want to get him on the field as quickly as we can but we don't want to put him in danger of re-injuring himself," he added.

"The injury has responded in the last few days. It was a long flight and it swelled up pretty bad and today he was not as comfortable as he should have been.

"But it's an injury that will quickly heal up as he hasn't got any structural damage.

"Each day it gets better and better so we're hoping that it's going to clear up by the end of the week and he can participate."

Los Angeles Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas has written to fans to warn they may be without David Beckham for five Major League Soccer games due to international duty.

Lalas posted a letter on the Galaxy website explaining that the club's prize asset could be called up by England coach Steve McClaren for next month's Wembley friendly against Germany and the five remaining Euro 2008 qualifiers in the autumn.

That could mean Beckham missing important MLS games and with the Galaxy and other teams in the league marketing ticket packages as a chance to see the England midfielder, Lalas has decided to address the issue.

In the letter, Lalas wrote: "In recent months David Beckham has been called to represent England in their quest for a place in the 2008 European Championships.

"We anticipate that these call-ups will continue after his arrival to the Galaxy, and as a result, he may miss certain games during the latter half of the 2007 season.

"We know LA Galaxy fans are eager to see David Beckham play, and we're working to insure that he is available for as many games as possible."

Lalas listed the dates when Beckham could be called up under world governing body FIFA's mandate for player release, periods which would encompass five MLS games.

And should the Galaxy manage to turn their season around and make the title-deciding MLS Cup final, Beckham could miss that as well.

The final is scheduled for November 18 in Washington DC, three days before England play their final qualifier at home to Croatia.

However, Lalas added: "The LA Galaxy will support David's continued involvement with the England national team.

"As MLS continues to attract more international talent, we must also accept that these players will represent their respective countries. International duty is a unique element of professional soccer and emphasises that we are part of a global game."

David Beckham reflected on "the most remarkable week" of his life after making his Los Angeles Galaxy debut in Carson, California on Saturday night.

Beckham has been through a rollercoaster of emotions since arriving in Los Angeles, first being presented to 5,000 fans and the world's media as a Galaxy player and then trying to overcome an ankle injury in a bid to make his debut.

He has been spotlighted on the 'Entertainment Tonight' television programme almost as much as he has appeared on sports news bulletins as he has tried to settle himself and his family into life in Beverly Hills and spent as much time talking about his fitness concerns as he has his footballing future in America.

So after Beckham came on as a substitute for the final 12 minutes of the Galaxy's friendly against Chelsea at a sold-out Home Depot Center, Beckham said: "I don't think I've ever had a more extraordinary year in my life than this one in football terms.

"I've had ups and downs all the way through this season and this year but this last week has been truly the most remarkable week, I think, of my life.

"The attention has been immense, not just on the Galaxy and the team but on me and my family. It's been really incredible and I'd like to thank everybody because 99.9 per cent of it has been positive and that's remarkable.

"I hope it continues but after this game now we've got a long season and a few games left and this is where the hard work starts.

"It's not just about this exhibition game and getting the crowd here for this game but for getting them here for every game that we play. It's a long process now and one that I'm looking forward to."

The next process for Beckham is trying to get fully fit for this week's SuperLiga tournament, which pits four MLS clubs against four Mexican sides.

The Galaxy's campaign begins at home to Pachuca on Tuesday night, followed by a game with Mexican giants Chivas Guadalajara next Saturday, which because of the visitors' massive expatriate support in Los Angeles has been moved to the Coliseum, which served as the Olympic stadium in 1984.

All Galaxy players were given a day off on Sunday but Beckham said: "We'll be back in training Monday morning and we've got the game Tuesday.

"I'll be trying to get in as much treatment as possible and hopefully it will be all right to at least play some part in the game, hopefully, but we'll have to see what the reaction is (to the injury).

"Then it's leading up to the game on Saturday. It's a big game and a game that's going to be played in a great atmosphere, the sort of atmosphere I like playing in, and hopefully I'm going to be fully fit to play in that."

Beckham blamed pressure associated with his arrival for unsettling his new team-mates and leading to the Galaxy's 3-0 loss last Tuesday to Mexican side Tigres.

Beckham watched from an executive box at the Home Depot Center and the performance by his new side was a poor one and even led to a British newspaper labelling the Galaxy as being as bad as a pub team.

"Those performances sometimes happen in football," Beckham said. "I think that what has been happening here in the Galaxy and in this team hasn't happened before with the amount of attention that's been on the players and the club, it's been incredible.

"Sometimes that takes its toll on a team and you get different reactions.

"I think tonight's performances is the performance we should be looking at. This was a performance that proves the team can play good football and can compete against some of the best players in the world and one of the best teams in the world.

"It might be a league that people look at and think it's not as tough or as high up as some of the other leagues in the world, which it's not, everybody knows that.

"But it's proved tonight and the other night also against Celtic in the All-Star Game that these players have got ability, they have got class and this is the game that we'll be taking forward."