England boss Steve McClaren has claimed he would have been "foolish" not to follow Real Madrid manager Fabio Capello's example in ushering David Beckham back from the wilderness.

Having dropped Beckham in such a public manner immediately after succeeding Sven-Goran Eriksson as England coach last summer, McClaren has swallowed a huge slice of humble pie in offering the midfielder a recall.

After all the talk of 'moving on' from a shoddy series of World Cup performances, it appears to be more a case of back to the future for McClaren now, with Steven Gerrard again set to partner Frank Lampard in central midfield for Friday's friendly with Brazil at Wembley.

Yet, in the knowledge a failure to beat Estonia in the far more significant Euro 2008 qualifier in Tallinn next week will almost certainly cost him his job, McClaren knows he cannot run the risk of losing without having called upon the inspiration behind Real Madrid's La Liga title drive.

And, after seeing how Capello has reaped the benefits of Beckham's determination not to simply fade away, McClaren has sent out the SOS call just as the Italian did when he made an about-turn following his initial assertion the 32-year-old would never play for Real again after confirming his lucrative move to Los Angeles Galaxy in January.

"You've got to respect the work Fabio Capello is doing at Real Madrid," said McClaren.

"He has had the same problems as me. He had no hesitation about bringing David back when he was on form and that has changed the fortunes of Real Madrid.

"I would be very foolish to ignore that."

Without actually seeing Beckham play in the flesh since succeeding Eriksson, McClaren feels he knows enough about the man he spent three years working with at Manchester United, plus another five with England to know how much of an influence he can be over his team.

Rather than effectively drifting into semi-retirement as Capello felt was certain ahead of his move to Hollywood, Beckham is a man on a mission.

And pure statistics indicate there is more to his game than an unerring accuracy to pick out team-mates from the right touchline, in itself a skill McClaren's England have lacked.

"David is the fittest I have seen him for a long time," said McClaren.

"He showed a great hunger and desire to get back. He didn't moan. He just got his head down and worked hard.

"I don't know whether it is a question of proving me wrong but the statistics are there.

"After one match, Capello said David ran 15km and the next highest figure was 12km. In another he ran 80 yards in the last minute to create a winning goal.

"I have not made this decision for the fans, the media or anyone else. It is about form. I will stand or fall by that but anyone who has watched David closely over the last few weeks and months must understand why he is in the squad."

McClaren does have some problems, with Rio Ferdinand and Michael Dawson joining a lengthy list of absentees after the defensive pair were both ruled out with groin injuries.

Wayne Bridge's hip knock means the Chelsea man will miss the Brazil encounter, although it is hoped he will be back for the Estonia trip.

However, McClaren is condemned to playing a patched-up defence, with Jamie Carragher favoured to edge Ledley King out of a central role, Phil Neville set to start on the right against the South Americans and left-back Nicky Shorey pencilled in for a debut meeting with the most glamorous opposition possible