Beckham on the way back

England captain David Beckham is expected to resume training with his Real Madrid team-mates tomorrow morning, according to reports in the Spanish media.

Marca and Diario AS newspapers, both with traditionally good links to the Bernabeu club, have printed stories assuring both Madrid and England fans the midfielder will return to action in the scheduled morning session tomorrow.

Beckham missed Madrid’s 3-1 Champions League win in Porto last night with a foot injury picked up in the 2-0 defeat at Valencia on Saturday.

Beckham was thought to be a doubt for England’s vital Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey later this month, fears which even he couldn’t ease on Monday, when he told a press conference “I don’t know” when asked if he would be available.

However, it seems that although Beckham was never going to recover for the Porto game, Madrid were always optimistic the inflammation in Beckham’s foot would die down for the visit of bottom club Espanyol this weekend.

“The aim of the club at the moment is for him to be available to play against Espanyol on Sunday,” a Real Madrid spokesman told both publications.

“We think that is a possibility – it’s one of those injuries that is painful, but not necessarily serious,” the source added.