Fergie's rest cure for Becks

Having watched him in competitive action and on the training pitch over the last two weeks, his manager is convinced the responsibility of leading his country in the World Cup and the strain of recovering rapidly from the foot injury he suffered in April have taken their toll.

Beckham's own revelation yesterday that his left foot - broken during his team's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Deportivo La Coruna - is still sore only adds credence to Ferguson's suspicions that the player needs more time.

'The England players need to be ready,' said Ferguson. 'Until they are I won't play them. Nobody can get into the team on reputation alone.'

Of Beckham's England colleagues - Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Wes Brown - only Scholes is showing signs of struggling to sweep away the summer cobwebs.

After his efforts in the Far East, Scholes is awaiting the results of a scan on his injured knee but will miss enough training to render him an unlikely contender for a starting place when the season begins with a home game against West Bromwich on Saturday week.

At the root of this issue, of course, is the contentious matter of fixture congestion. Ferguson is not alone in believing his players are unfairly burdened by the demands of the Premiership and the Champions League. He said: 'There is good foundation to talk about the number of games players are playing. I can see a winter break happening.

'England weren't fresh at the World Cup. I didn't see any great energy in any of the England games. Everyone knows full well that it is a tortuous season anyway. I wouldn't go on tour in a winter break. I would maybe take the players away somewhere warm but I wouldn't play any games.'

It was after the 'winter break' enforced on Beckham by his manager last season - he missed nine games in succession - that he managed to rediscover his optimum form.

His return of 16 goals was the best of his career to date and his performances delighted - not to mention vindicated - his manager right up until the moment his season was shattered by the lunging feet of La Coruna's lumbering Argentine Aldo Duscher.

To use him sparingly early on would also hand Ferguson an opportunity to keep Juan Sebastian Veron in the team. Having decided that Nicky Butt will begin the season alongside Roy Keane in the centre of a flat midfield four, Ferguson has no obvious home for the former Lazio player.

Veron operated on the right flank during Beckham's absence last season and the opportunity to do so again would at least afford him the opportunity to run into the early- season form he so badly needs.

United play their final pre-season tour game against Aarhus here in Denmark tonight. Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez is likely to start after missing Sunday's match against Parma in Amsterdam with a thigh injury, but striker Ruud van Nistelrooy (shin) may well not be risked.