At least fifty reporters had swarmed the clinic’s entrance, forming an impenetrable wall.
Some had already set up their video cameras, while many others stretched their arms out, holding up cameras, trying to take pictures of the situation inside the clinic.
Chen Yu stood with his hands on his hips, watching it all with a serious expression.
Fortunately, the clinic operated on an appointment-only basis. Even for emergencies, cases were dispatched in advance by an emergency center, so for the time being, the clinic’s normal operations weren’t affected. Otherwise, Chen Yu would have definitely called the police to make this mob of reporters get lost.
"Beef up security and maintain order. I don’t want any problems," Chen Yu said, turning to his head of security.
"Oh, right. Go tell the head of logistics to suspend all external hiring for now."
Previously, an Italian reporter had posed as a job applicant at the clinic and nearly managed to sneak a picture of Irina by lurking outside Batty’s room in the middle of the night.
Just as he was about to leave, a car approached in the distance. Blocked by the reporters at the entrance, it couldn’t get through. Someone got out and started walking over. Before Chen Yu could walk away, a security guard was already reporting the situation on his walkie-talkie.
"Pepsi?"
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow, momentarily speechless.
’Just how important is Beckham to the United Kingdom?’ he thought. ’He gets one injury, and his club and the National Team both follow him to the United States. They even came on a private jet; otherwise, they couldn’t have gotten here so fast. And now, to top it all off, even his sponsors are here.’
"I’m not seeing them," Chen Yu said with a wave of his hand, turning back toward the medical center.
William, as Chen Yu’s chief assistant, had already taken Beckham to get his examinations.
Inside the consultation room, everyone was waiting anxiously. Lexi was there too, sitting with Victoria and chatting about something.
As Chen Yu entered, he glanced over at them. His first thought was that they were just having some girl talk, but on second thought, that didn’t seem right. Lexi’s attention was on Victoria’s stomach. ’Are they talking about pregnancy?’
’No, that can’t be right,’ he thought. ’We’ve always been very careful with protection. There’s no way we slipped up, right?’
It wasn’t that the two of them didn’t like children, but that they were both at the peak of their careers. They didn’t want to just dump a child on a nanny and have them grow up without their parents’ companionship, so they had decided to wait a couple of years.
As he entered the room, Eriksson was talking with Gerrard, asking about his recovery. Seeing Chen Yu come in, he immediately hurried over.
The others also crowded forward.
"Don’t rush. We can talk in detail after the examination is done," Chen Yu said, taking a seat and gesturing for them to calm down.
’It’s just a small fracture, not a torn ligament. Look at them, each one more nervous than the last.’
Eriksson sighed. He wanted to be calm, but he just couldn’t.
With players on the National Team getting injured one after another, the Swede was starting to understand Trapattoni’s frustrations.
Before, the British media had mocked Italy, saying they were plagued by injuries, with players dropping one by one from their forward and defensive lines. Well, now the tables have turned, and it was England’s turn.
Ferguson said, "Chen, the main thing we’re concerned about right now is whether David can return before the World Cup."
The injury itself wasn’t catastrophic. It was a fracture, and while it was a metatarsal, it wasn’t a rare type of fracture for a football player. It was a straightforward physical injury that any decent orthopedic surgeon should be able to handle, and it wouldn’t have any long-term effects on his career after recovery.
But the problem now was that the World Cup was set to begin in just fifty days.
And this was Beckham!
After his injury, you could hear British people discussing it in every pub, every office building, and even on the tube and on buses.
Even the British Prime Minister, upon hearing the news of Beckham’s injury, had interrupted a cabinet meeting to tell reporters that Beckham’s left foot was a crucial part of England’s bid to win the World Cup.
Queen Elizabeth II had also called to inquire about the situation.
If he really missed the World Cup, it wouldn’t just be unacceptable to the fans all over the United Kingdom; it would also cause huge financial losses for his club, his sponsors, and the World Cup itself.
"So, Chen, I’m begging you, you must heal David," Ferguson said, stepping forward and grasping Chen Yu’s hands, his gaze imploring.
It wasn’t just him. Beckham’s father, as well as Victoria—who was holding her son’s hand and cradling her visibly pregnant belly—were all staring at Chen Yu without blinking.
The atmosphere was so intense it felt as if failing to get Beckham ready for the Japan and South Korea World Cup would make him a sinner for the ages.
Fortunately, William’s return broke the awkward atmosphere.
"Sir," William said, handing over the examination report.
Victoria went to her husband, pulling Xiaobei into an embrace, while their son also rushed into his father’s arms.
Beckham held his son, looking at Chen Yu with a melancholy expression.
’Can’t deny it,’ Chen Yu thought. ’He’s a heartthrob for a reason. Even injured, he’s still so handsome.’
Chen Yu turned his attention to the examination report.
Of course, Chen Yu had already known the details of his injury the moment he saw Beckham.
It was a fracture of the second metatarsal bone.
There are five metatarsal bones in total, connecting the tarsal bones to the phalanges of the toes.
Relatively speaking, the first metatarsal—the one connected to the big toe—is the thickest and strongest, making it less prone to fracture. The remaining four are more slender, with a higher probability of breaking.
Furthermore, the location of the fracture determines completely different recovery and treatment methods.
Simply put, metatarsal fractures can be broadly divided into three types.
First, there are fractures of the metatarsal neck, which are usually caused by stress.
Then there is the most troublesome type, a fracture at the base of the fifth metatarsal. It affects the mobility of the foot’s arch, has high requirements for reduction, and generally requires surgery.
The remaining type was what Beckham had: a shaft fracture.
This is when the middle of the bone breaks, usually due to external impact.
It’s either an oblique fracture or a transverse fracture.
Beckham was slightly luckier; his was an oblique fracture, which is somewhat easier to set.
Additionally, metatarsal fractures are often accompanied by damage to surrounding soft tissues, such as tears in the bone marrow, extensor tendons of the toes, or dorsal metatarsal ligaments.
In his case, Chen Yu had already checked and found that it was relatively fine, with no major issues.
But no matter how lucky he was, it was still a fracture.
The old saying "a hundred days to mend bones and sinews" is no joke.
"Dr. Chen, will David need surgery?" Eriksson asked, unable to hide his impatience.
After Beckham got injured this time, he was first sent to a hospital for an examination. Then, experts from the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital and the Oxford Medical School Orthopedic Center were immediately contacted for a consultation.
The diagnosis they gave was conservative treatment.
Of course, they also knew Beckham was in a hurry to return for the World Cup. So, in the end, Professor Arnold, the orthopedic expert from the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, stated that they couldn’t be absolutely certain they could get Beckham to a full, healthy recovery within fifty days.
And by "recovery," he didn’t mean just being able to walk or perform normal activities. He meant being fit to play in a match—truly healthy, not playing through an injury.
That was why he ultimately suggested that Beckham come to the United States and give Chen Yu a try.
In Europe, in the field of orthopedics, there was hardly a doctor who didn’t know Chen Yu’s name.
That was why the whole group had rushed to the United States.
On the way, Eriksson had consulted with someone and learned that Chen Yu was fond of performing surgery. For example, with Ronaldo, who had already had an operation, Chen Yu had performed another one after taking over his treatment.
It wasn’t that surgery was a bad thing; Ronaldo’s excellent recovery proved that the surgery was very good.
But with only fifty days left, if he had surgery, the recovery period would be even longer.
"No need. It’s not that complicated," Chen Yu said with a wave.
’It’s a minor problem. Why would it need surgery?’
Chen Yu stood up and motioned for Beckham to lie down on the bed. As he began to cut off the temporary cast on his leg, he told William to go get the plaster and other necessary tools.
Beckham sat on the bed, a little dazed. ’I flew thousands of kilometers to get here, and he’s starting the treatment already?’
Chen Yu exposed the left foot. The hematoma was quite obvious, but it wasn’t a big problem.
"You’re not afraid of pain, are you?" Chen Yu asked, looking up.
At these words, Victoria, who was standing beside him, immediately tightened her grip on Beckham.
Beckham paused, and just as he was about to shake his head, Chen Yu said, "Never mind. Let’s just use anesthesia."
Then he gestured for Lexi to get the anesthetic.
Ferguson and Eriksson exchanged a glance. Even with Chen Yu’s stellar track record of cures, they still felt this was a bit rash. ’The examination just finished, and there was barely any discussion about his condition. He’s starting the treatment right away?’
After all, Beckham’s left foot held the hopes of tens of millions of British people.
But Chen Yu was an authority, and a top-tier one at that. Even though they had their doubts, they didn’t dare to voice any questions.
Just then, William and Lexi returned.
Chen Yu got to work, first administering a local anesthetic to the left foot.
A manual reduction would be quite painful otherwise.
For a fracture reduction, the most important thing is alignment. In that regard, if Chen Yu claimed to be second-best in the world, no one would dare claim to be first.
The advantage of the Eye of All-Seeing was just too great.
He grasped the toes with his right hand, applying outward traction. With his left hand, he pushed on the fractured end from the sole of the foot. His right hand rotated slightly, adjusting the angle to set it back in place.
At the same time, Chen Yu silently used a Gold Level recovery effect.
Logically, a manual reduction after a fracture should fall under the category of medical treatment. However, through practical testing, Chen Yu had discovered it actually fell under the category of Sports Rehabilitation.
And what was even better was that it also counted for the bonus from his massage technique.
It was a type of bone-setting technique, so that made sense.
In that case, it was almost like using a Diamond Level effect.
The whole process was very quick, lasting only a few breaths.
He stopped and scanned it with the Eye of All-Seeing. The alignment was perfect.
Of course, achieving a completely seamless fit was impossible, even with open surgery.
However, even with slightly imperfect alignment, the second metatarsal wouldn’t cause major problems. As long as it healed and fused, it would have almost no impact on the foot’s athletic ability.
At the same time, the recovery effect was kicking in.
Under the Eye of All-Seeing, blood vessels within the medullary cavity at the fracture site had already begun to spread and grow. At this rate, he estimated it would only take two or three days to re-establish blood circulation.
Normally, the hematoma formation stage of fracture healing alone takes two weeks.
By using the system’s effect, he had essentially reclaimed that time.
Therefore, a return in 50 days was more than feasible; even a shorter timeline was possible.
After all, this was a fracture, not a torn ligament.
Bone marrow has a rich blood supply, whereas ligaments have almost none. Even with the system’s effects, ligament injuries still required several months of recovery.
William hadn’t even finished preparing the plaster cast, so Chen Yu stepped in to help.
For an orthopedic surgeon, this was the most basic of basic skills. Before long, Chen Yu had finished immobilizing the left foot.
After one last scan with the Eye of All-Seeing, Chen Yu took off his Gloves. "Alright, that’s done. You can go handle the hospital admission paperwork in a bit. Today is April 13th... let’s say the 20th of next month. He should be able to be discharged then."
’A recovery period of just over a month should be enough,’ he thought.
"Really?" Eriksson, who was still worrying about whether Chen Yu’s treatment had been too casual, couldn’t help but exclaim in shock when he heard Beckham could return by the 20th of next month.
England’s first match was against Sweden on June 2nd. If Beckham could return by May 20th, he would have at least 12 days to train with the team and get back into form.
It was absolutely perfect!
"Dr. Chen, thank you."
Coming back to his senses, the little old man was so excited that he pulled Chen Yu into a hug without another word.
As the first foreign coach in England’s history, those picky Brits had never given him an easy time. If the team’s results hadn’t been decent during the World Cup qualifiers, he would have been fired long ago.
Now, with the main event just around the corner, the team’s star players were getting injured one after another. The outlook for the World Cup was grim.
First Gerrard, then Beckham. For Eriksson, Chen Yu had basically just saved his career.

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