David Beckham all but ruled himself out of his planned debut for L.A Galaxy on Saturday in a friendly against Chelsea.
The England midfielder has been struggling to recover from an injury to his left ankle.
"At the moment it doesn't look good; there is still a lot of swelling but I am here for five years not just for Saturday," Beckham told ESPN television during coverage of Thursday's MLS All-Star game against Celtic.
Beckham twisted his ankle while playing for his country against Estonia in a Euro 2008 qualifying match last month.
He then aggravated it in his final appearance for Real Madrid 11 days later when his former team clinched the Spanish league title.
There has been a wave of publicity since he arrived in the U.S last week and he had been expected to make his first appearance on Saturday.
But he said the most he was likely to be able to offer fans would be a cameo appearance late in the match.
"Maybe I will be able to play some part towards the end," he said.
Beckham, signed for the Galaxy from Real on a five-year deal worth $32.5 million (16 million pounds).
Image: David Beckham presents the U-17 MLS Youth Cup trophy to D.C. United captain Chris Jumalon during half time at the MLS All-Star game against Celtic FC on Thursday. Photograph: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images
