David Beckham played his first competitive football in seven weeks on Thursday night as the Los Angeles Galaxy drew 1-1 with New York to keep their play-off hopes alive.

The England midfielder came off the bench with 22 minutes remaining to make his first appearance for the Galaxy since injuring his knee in the SuperLiga final at the end of August.

Beckham showed no ill effects from his lay-off, but despite playing several searching passes he was unable to engineer the breakthrough and Galaxy were forced to settle for a draw in the Major League Soccer fixture, ending their five-game winning streak but extending their unbeaten run to seven.

The 32-year-old had returned to full practice this week but is still a long way from being 100 per cent, having hurt his ankle slightly in training on Wednesday.

However, having come through this game, he is all but certain to be available again on Sunday when Los Angeles finish their regular season with a make-or-break game away to the Chicago Fire - their rivals for the remaining play-off berth.

When asked if Beckham will play on Sunday, Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said: “We’ll see. I‘ll make that decision on Saturday or Sunday depending on the situation.”

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