TORONTO - David Beckham didn’t dress, missing his scheduled Major League Soccer debut because of a lingering ankle injury that kept him on the bench Sunday night during the Los Angeles Galaxy’s 0-0 tie with Toronto FC.

Beckham wasn’t among the starting 11 or seven substitutes for the game, played before a sellout crowd of 20,522. Instead the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star watched intently from the bench, dressed in a navy blue suit and red necktie. Beckham did not speak to reporters following the game.

“He probably would have helped, but we’ve got to a better job, all of us,” Galaxy captain Landon Donovan said. “One player is not going to make a difference in that game. We’ve got to be better going forward.”

Without Beckham, the Galaxy struggled to create scoring chances. Los Angeles had just two shots, both in the second half.

Head coach Frank Yallop expects that to change once Beckham is making passes from the midfield.

“That’s one of the reasons David is going to play in the middle of the field, where he can get on the ball, he can dictate the pace the of the game, play an array of passes,” Yallop said. “We are definitely missing that.”

Beckham sprained his left ankle while playing for England against Estonia in a European Championship qualifier on June 6, then hurt it again during Real Madrid’s season finale June 17. On Saturday, the 32-year-old midfielder said he cannot plant or turn without pain and is seven to 10 days from being able to start.

He appears likely to miss England’s exhibition game against Germany on Aug. 22, and the layoff could cause him to miss European Championship qualifiers against Israel on Sept. 8 and Russia on Sept. 12.

“We didn’t realize it was that sore when he started to run and get going,” Yallop said.

Since joining the Galaxy, Beckham has been limited to a 16-minute appearance on July 21 in an exhibition against England’s Chelsea.

Donovan said he’s as excited as anyone over Beckham’s impending debut.

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“I can’t wait,” Donovan said. “As much as everyone else wants him to play, we want him to play more. We just don’t want to be in too deep of a hole when he gets back. We want to be within striking distance of the playoffs.”

Los Angeles is on an MLS trip that takes it to D.C. United on Thursday and the New England Revolution next Sunday. The Galaxy return home for a Superliga semifinal against D.C. United on Aug. 15, then plays an MLS match three days later at the New York Red Bulls.

Yallop said Beckham’s ankle was stronger during a pregame jog.

“He ran a bit more today and felt a little bit looser than yesterday,” Yallop said. “I don’t want to say he will be available for the game on Thursday. We’ll see. He’s got a couple of days until that game. We’ll see how he responds after today. He’s getting a bit of work and he’s getting better.”

Yallop is eager to get Beckham playing, if only to divert the attention.

“What we’re trying to do is just get him on the field,” Yallop said. “Once he gets on the field, it’s going to kind of go away, I think. The game’s going on, there’s people sort of standing in front of me taking photographs of him. We need to get away from that.”