Beckham bone

The Beckham bone is a name attributed by British journalists to the fifth metatarsal.

David Beckham, while playing for Manchester United against Deportivo La Coruña in a Champions League quarter-final game in 2002, was subject to a tackle from Argentina's Pedro Duscher. (A lot of acrimony had existed between David Beckham and Argentina since David Beckham's sending off in the 1998 World Cup). This tackle broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot and seriously threatened England's chances in the 2002 World Cup.

David Beckham was the media darling at the time, and the bone (and the tackle) received a wave of publicity; subsequently, the name "Beckham bone" was born.

Since then, other notable English footballers including Gary Neville, Danny Murphy and Wayne Rooney have suffered fractures to the same bone.