It was not clear at first how Beckham had sustained the injury but he was obviously in a lot of pain as he limped off the pitch clutching the top of his right leg.

England coach Eriksson was watching in the stands at Villa Park and will hope his skipper's injury is not as serious as it appeared to be as a grim-faced Beckham took his place in the dug-out.

Television cameras appeared to catch him in tears as he sat in the dug-out.

Despite Beckham appearing to be in some pain, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson did not think the injury was too serious.

"I don't think there's any problem," he said. "I think he'll be alright.

"At that stage of the game, you can't him see going through with it... so we just brought him off."

As for whether Beckham will be fit for Munich, Ferguson said: "That's not my department. I should think there'll be some treatment."