Sven admits he may rest Beckham

14 April 2012

David Beckham could be left out of England's next game to let him settle in at Real Madrid, coach Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted today.

Eriksson claimed that England captain Beckham, sold last month by Manchester United, could miss the 20 August friendly against Croatia in Ipswich.

The Swede said: "We'll see how things go for David and we'll make that decision just before we pick the squad. I expect the rest of the senior players to be there."

Beckham is set to feature in Real Madrid's Far East tour at the end of this month following his move to Spain and should then play in the Super Cup final against Real Mallorca on the weekend before the England friendly. Eriksson will wait to see what shape the midfielder is in before calling him back to England and says he will continue to watch his progress at Real.

"Tord Grip and myself will travel to Madrid to see him," he said. "It will be very interesting of course to see what position he will play."

Meanwhile, Brazilian World Cup-winner Roberto Carlos said today David Beckham is not an "advertisement boy" and will prove his class this season at Real Madrid.

Beckham joined Real for £25million last month, with some critics suggesting the England captain will be more use as a marketing tool than a player in a midfield which already boasts the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo.

But Carlos said: "Everybody is speaking about how handsome and nice he is, but when he starts playing, it will all be a different issue. Beckham is a great footballer and is going to reinforce our team. I hope he makes a great debut so everybody can see he is an excellent player. This would end all the rumours saying he is only an advertisement boy.

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Sven admits he may rest Beckham

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