Beckham made a Lazarus-style return to the international arena in June when he ended a year-long exile by turning out against Brazil and Russia.

Having virtually abandoned any notion of playing for England again, Beckham committed himself to highly lucrative five-year contract with Major League Soccer outfit LA Galaxy, setting a target of raising the profile of the 11-man football code in the richest nation on earth.

Now Beckham finds himself not only attempting to bridge the gulf in standard between the supposedly inferior MLS and the Barclays Premier League but also enduring up to eight trans-Atlantic flights between now and November and still managing to hit top form.

McClaren accepts it is not an easy task. But, having flown to the USA to speak with Beckham face-to-face last week, the England coach believes the 32-year-old is up to the task.

"David Beckham has faced many challenges in the past - and he always rises to them," he said.

"At one stage last season, he was out of it with both England and Real Madrid. Yet he came back from that to have probably the best two months of his career.

"Moving to America is a big challenge for him; doing that and playing for England is another one. He has met these challenges in the past, now he has to do it again."

McClaren's fact-finding brief last week was as much concerned with seeing an MLS game, and meeting senior LA Galaxy figures Alexi Lalas and Frank Yallop, as talking to Beckham himself.

On all fronts, McClaren declared himself satisfied.

"The people at LA Galaxy were very supportive. They understand where I am coming from and I understand where they are coming from," he confirmed.

"But the other thing I needed to do was look at the standard of the MLS.

"I think it was possibly, top-of-the-Championship-lower Premier League. But I get the sense that in type of game, and that type of atmosphere, David will be okay.

"In some senses though, it is about what David does, not what LA Galaxy do.

"As long as he maintains his motivation and his fitness, he will be an asset.

"What we want is what we saw in the summer; David Beckham the football player."

McClaren, who was speaking at the sponsoredbyyou.com event hosted by England sponsors Nationwide, recalled the immediate impact Beckham had on his players when he offered him that initial unexpected recall in June.

"There was a lot of concern but from the very first day of training everyone knew David Beckham was back," he said.

"Really, we will only know whether playing in America has affected in when we can see him for ourselves in training and matches. That is when we will be able to judge his performances and when David will know he has to produce."

McClaren also met the six lucky Nationwide customers who will become the first individuals to have their names appear on pitchside sponsor advertising boards at Wembley Stadium during next Wednesday's friendly clash with Germany.

While McClaren accepted defeat to England's arch-rivals is not a particularly palatable prospect, he refused to lose sight of the much more important tests in September, when European Championship qualification rivals Israel and Russia arrive in a five-day spell which will do much to determine England's fate.

To that end, the former Middlesbrough boss hopes to have Beckham, John Terry, Owen Hargreaves and Michael Owen in the squad that gathers in Watford on Monday, whether they are fit to face Germany or not.

Beckham's availability will be discussed in a phonecall between McClaren and Lalas early on Sunday morning, with the England coach admitting plenty of things needed to happen - including the midfielder coming through two planned appearances unscathed - before a final verdict could be reached.

Sheer geography means decisions over Terry, Hargreaves and Owen are slightly easier to reach ahead of Friday's planned squad announcement.

McClaren is giving little away over the potential for new faces, although Micah Richards is a certain starter at right-back, which raises the possibility of either Everton's Joleon Lescott or Newcastle youngster Steven Taylor earning senior honours.

Given Beckham's lack of recent match practice, McClaren knows he needs cover in the right-sided midfield slot whether England's famed former captain flies back to London next week or not.

Shaun Wright-Phillips' return to form offers one alternative, while Blackburn's David Bentley may find out whether his decision to snub an England Under-21 call this summer has any longer lasting implications.

Bentley impressed during a B international win over Albania in May but blotted his copybook by abandoning Stuart Pearce's squad ahead of the European Under-21 Championships at such a late stage, it was impossible to call in a replacement.

"There has been a big debate about that, which I have kept out of," said McClaren.

"I talked to David beforehand, he made his decision and now we move on.

"Whether I pick him will be apparent on Friday when the squad is announced."