Beckham gets England okay

David Beckham returns to England today to reclaim the captain’s armband in a quiet corner of Essex after dismissing fears that he would be injured for Wednesday’s friendly against Croatia.

The England captain meets up with Sven-Goran Eriksson’s squad to prepare for the Euro 2004 warm-up match at Ipswich.

And he now looks set to play despite picking up a back injury during Real Madrid’s friendly at Valencia on Sunday.

A luxury country club, not far from the famous jam-making village of Tiptree, will provide Beckham with a few quiet days of rest after the month-long world tour which followed his £25million transfer from Manchester United to the Spanish champions.

Eriksson was happy for Beckham to miss this match and concentrate on settling into his new life in Madrid. But having been suspended for England’s last two games, Beckham is keen to be involved and reclaim the captaincy from Liverpool’s Michael Owen.

Beckham will reiterate his commitment to England and their Euro 2004 campaign when he faces the media tonight. Eriksson’s 24-man squad contained one surprise — the absence of 32-year-old Middlesbrough defender Gareth Southgate.

Although not called upon during the 2002 World Cup, Southgate has made six starts since the tournament, taking his total of England caps to 55.

His absence at the start of a new season could indicate that his international career is now over, though Eriksson never formally closes the door on any players.

Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand, both absent from England’s last two games, are included in the squad along with Newcastle’s Jonathan Woodgate and Chelsea’s John Terry.

Eriksson will fine-tune his squad against Croatia in preparation for the two matches against Macedonia and Liechtenstein next month and the crucial final qualifying game in Turkey on 11 October.