England manager to check out Beckham's progress

LONDON: England manager Steve McClaren will embark on a whistle-stop trans-Atlantic fact-finding mission on Thursday to meet David Beckham and see for himself the standard of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US.

Beckham is yet to make his MLS debut for Los Angeles Galaxy after failing to shrug off his ankle injury, reports Soccernet.

The 32-year-old former England captain seems almost certain to miss Thursday's encounter with DC United and will be a major doubt for England's friendly with Germany Aug 22.

However, with McClaren confirming his Washington trip Monday evening, Beckham is now certain to make the trip to Washington to give the England manger an update on his injury.

McClaren revealed: "I know David has been struggling with injury and has not played yet but I intend to go over and have a chat with him to see how he is.

"I definitely need to speak with his coach (Frank Yallop) and the director of football (Alexei Lalas) as well, but I also need to watch an MLS game in the flesh and have a look at the standard."

McClaren's trip fits perfectly into an otherwise crammed schedule.

After the US visit, McClaren is gearing himself up for a cross-country trip to watch four games in the opening five days of the new English Premier League season.

Starting at West Ham Saturday, McClaren will then head to Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, casting his eye over as many potential squad men as possible before announcing next Friday the party to face Germany.

He added: "The good thing is I can make the trip to see David without missing anything back here. I will be back for the opening games Saturday and I will also be at matches Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

"This week was the best chance I had to get over. While I hope David will be involved, at least I will get a chance to speak with him."