David Beckham said on Monday that he hoped to be fit to play in Real Madrid's pre-season tour of the United States.

"We'll have to wait and see because I only started running on Sunday without any pain," Beckham told Real Madrid's Web site. "I have to take it easy because I want to be fit for the start of the season, which is the most important thing."

Beckham was hurt in the second half of England's World Cup quarterfinal defeat to Portugal on penalties on July 1.

Real faces DC United on Aug. 9 in Seattle and Real Salt Lake in Salt Lake City on Aug. 12.

Beckham said he was looking forward to playing with Ruud van Nistelrooy, his former Manchester United teammate who joined the club on Friday.

"He is one of the best goalscorers that I have ever played with, he scored many goals from me, and it was great to play in the same team as him at Manchester United," Beckham said. "I think that it is good for the team that he is at Real Madrid, and also good for him.

"Ruud is a goalscorer, that's what he does best. He runs for the team and he works hard. Every player is different, but Ruud has got a lot of talent and also works very hard."

Editor: Donald