David Beckham was "completely destroyed" when he reported the news of his torn Achilles to the England camp immediately after it occurred on Sunday night.

APDavid Beckham lies injured on a stretcher

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Fabio Capello is awaiting the full medical details after Beckham's surgery on Monday, but the England camp already know that the midfielder won't play for six months - at the earliest.

An FA insider told Soccernet of the highly charged, emotional call from Beckham on Sunday night: "He sounded destroyed, completely destroyed. He must have known he would miss the World Cup, there was little anyone could say to console him.

"He didn't realise what happened at first, he heard a big shot, as if he had been shot by someone with a gun. It is such a shame, and you can imagine how he was feeling. There was little to say to make him feel better.

"Although we are still waiting to hear from the doctor on how the surgery went, we know from our experiences that, with this type of injury, the player will not be able to play for six to seven months, and that is for sure."

The insider confirmed that Capello would have selected Beckham in England's 23-man final squad, even though doubts were raised after the Egypt game at Wembley whether he would make the final cut.

"He was always going to be in the final 23,'' the insider said. ''He would have been selected to go to the World Cup. In all probability, as things can change very quickly in football, so one can say in all probability he would have been in the 23.

"No one is now thinking about the candidates to replace him, we have only just heard the news and that is all."

Capello, though, will welcome Beckham into the England camp during the tournament in South Africa and invite him out there as an FA guest and figurehead of their 2018 World Cup bid.

"I am sure Fabio would ask David to join the squad at some point,'' the insider added. ''The door will still be open to him, it will be a pleasure for him to join us, but we haven't spoken about this as yet."