Beckham joins England training for Wednesday's friendly

LONDON: Former England captain David Beckham, struggling to recover from an ankle injury, took part in the afternoon training session with other players ahead of Wednesday's friendly against Germany at the Wembley Stadium.

The 32-year-old midfielder played his first full game for new club Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday before taking a flight from New York to London.

But former England manager Sir Bobby Robson has expressed concerns about Beckham's ability to combine playing in the US with representing England.

"In the short term he looks OK, but the longer he plays in America, with respect to the football being played there, the less competitive he will become," Robson told BBC Sport.

"It is not the greatest level of football. He will lose the match sharpness he needs to play at the top level with England."

However, current England manager Steve McClaren was in a positive mood after watching Beckham train.

"I think David can combine playing out there and coming here," he said.

"I understand everyone's concern about that - but the proof will be not just in his performances but also in training.

"When we brought him back (last time) in the Monday training session, there was a lot of pressure on him and a lot of people looking. His performance in training got rid of the doubts.

"We will know that. That is what we assess. It is not just in games we look at him, it is in training as well."

Meanwhile, England will be without Steven Gerrard, Owen Hargreaves and Darren Bent for the friendly.
 
Liverpool midfielder Gerrard will rest his broken toe, Manchester United's Hargreaves is still feeling pain from his knee injury and Tottenham Hotspur's Bent misses out because of a thigh injury he suffered in his side's win over Derby County on Saturday.

England have also confirmed Portsmouth defender Sol Campbell will play no part in the game because of a groin injury.