David Beckham plans to play on until he is 40 after battling 'career threatening' injury



David Beckham feared his career was over when an achilles injury ruled him out of the World Cup - but the England legend now thinks he can play on till the next finals in Brazil.



The settled 36-year-old has dropped the biggest hint yet that he will stay in America’s Major League Soccer when his contract ends with the LA Galaxy next year.



The season is over for him after LA’s defeat by Dallas in the Western Conference final at the weekend, but there will be more opportunities for glory as Beckham reckons he play on till he is 40.



Carry on Becks: Evergreen Beckham wants to play on for another four years

‘I believe I’ve still got a good two, three, four years left in me,’ Beckham told The Sun.



‘The moment I stop enjoying playing football, that will be the time I think, “OK that’s it, I’m done”. But I love it so there is no need to stop yet.’



He also loves his life with Victoria in America, where their boys Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, eight, and five-year-old Cruz have picked up a local twang.



‘They’ve got full-on American accents now but I don’t care,’ said David. ‘The boys are funny. I was putting Cruz to bed the other night and I said something to him and he turned round to me and said, “Daddy - you’re so English”.



Fear: Beckham thought his career could have been ended by injury last season

‘I have lived in Spain, Milan and Manchester but I have never lost my East End accent and never will. We’re happy here at the moment. The boys are so happy and it’s the most important thing to us.’



Beckham has the option of buying his own MLS ‘franchise’, but could opt to put that off till he hangs up his boots. But there is certainly no indication he wants to leave the States behind.



‘We’ve got no immediate plans to come back,’ he said. ‘My contract ends in just over a year and I have no plans after that yet - but things change really quickly.’



Just playing at all is a blessing after badly snapping his achilles in March while on loan at AC Milan, an injury which meant he could only go to South Africa 2010 as a glorified cheerleader.



‘There was a moment when I thought, “Do you know what - this is more serious than I actually thought”,’ he said of the injury.



‘The muscle had gone and there were just two scars and 57 stitches. It was a mess. But I stayed positive and had friends and family around me who kept me going and I had that belief.



‘I set a goal to get back before six months - and I was back four days before six months.’



Thumbs up: Beckham is happy to prolong his career in America

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star admits it was difficult watching England’s World Cup demise from the sidelines and he would rather be on the pitch at Wembley when Fabio Capello’s men line up against France on Wednesday.



‘I’d love to still be involved,’ he said. ‘Everyone knows how passionate I am about playing for my country. It’s one of the reasons I’ve always said I won’t retire from international duty. If I’m needed then I’m available - and that’s the way it will stay.’

