Worn-out Beckham shifts focus to Milan spell

Bruised, battered and fatigued after enjoying his most successful season with Los Angeles Galaxy, David Beckham turned his thoughts on Tuesday to his loan spell with AC Milan in January.

Beckham's move to Italy is motivated by the need to show England manager Fabio Capello he is in the right form and shape to make the squad for June's World Cup finals in South Africa.

The England midfielder made the same move to Italy last season, joining Milan in January and staying until the end of the Serie A season in May.

"The rest of the guys will go off and have a few months to relax, I go straight into the European season," Beckham said at the Home Depot Centre after he and his team-mates had their final meeting of the year with coach Bruce Arena.

"I should be fine with that since I have been playing 65 games a year for the last 20 years. Nothing changes for me."

The first step that Beckham needs to take, though, is to recover from the bumps and bruises of the MLS season, particularly a bruised right ankle bone that caused him pain in the final week of the North American season.

He had pain-killing injections before the MLS Cup final in Seattle against Real Salt Lake and limped through extra-time with the Galaxy having used all three substitutes.

Beckham was also coughing badly after the game, having struggled with a cold in the build-up to the final, which they lost 5-4 on penalties.

"You always feel worn out at the end of the season," the 34-year-old said.

"Any athlete would say that you don't come to the end of the season and feel fresh, because if you do, then there is something wrong with the effort you gave during the season."

While Los Angeles lost to Salt Lake, Beckham was delighted overall with his team's season, having won the Western Conference title after finishing top in qualifying for the playoffs, and their prospects for next year.

"We are obviously disappointed but it shows how we have moved on as a team and the expectations we have of ourselves," he said.

"We have high expectations and hopefully we can go further next year."