Heavily strapped Beckham trains by himself

England captain David Beckham is back in training as he tries to recover from a groin injury that threatens his place in the 2002 World Cup qualifying decider in Germany on Saturday.

The midfielder trained for the first time this week as England completed their preparations at Bisham Abbey ahead of a flight to Munich later today.

While the England camp are delighted that the player could beat his injury problem to play on Saturday night it looks doubtful.

He was only able to perform light stretches and running with a heavily bandaged thigh away from the other players as he went through a session with physiotherapist Alan Smith.

Beckham hurt his groin early in Manchester United's 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Sunday but a scan on Tuesday did not find significant damage and the 25 year old has been in intensive treatment for the past four days to try and get him fit.

Germany need only to draw the game in Munich to qualify for the finals next summer but England need to win to stand any chance of avoiding the play-offs.