David Beckham to stay with Los Angeles Galaxy through final year of contract

The 35-year-old superstar says he is "80 to 85 percent" fit after tearing his left Achilles' tendon while on loan in March. He was sidelined for six months and missed the World Cup in South Africa.

"It's obviously difficult to come back from," he said. "I've been playing just over a month now and the fitness level is almost there."

The Galaxy open the playoffs next Sunday at Seattle. Beckham scored the tying goal in the team's 2-1 weekend victory over FC Dallas to help them finish with the league's best record of 18-7-5.

Last year, the Galaxy lost on penalty kicks to Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup final.

"I wouldn't say we're favorites," he said. "I believe we've got the right team, we've got the right manager, so everything sets up right. It's just about us performing on the field."

The severity of his injury has kept Beckham from thinking too far into the future, especially when it comes to making the rosters for Euro 2012 or the World Cup in 2014.

"At the moment, I'm just taking each game as it comes," he said.

Beckham will join the Galaxy for its friendly in Newcastle, Australia, next month.

His latest injury is one of many that have knocked Beckham out since he arrived to unbelievable hype four years ago, stating his goal was to raise soccer's profile in the United States.

"We wanted to grow the league, which we have," he said, citing new MLS franchises, new soccer-specific stadiums and international players who've followed him stateside as proof of the growth.

"I always said it wasn't going to take a year or two. It's going to take five, 10 years to be able to get up to a level which could compete with the European leagues. So far, so good."

Beckham spent Monday in a Hollywood studio doing promotional work for EA Sports Active 2, a line of interactive fitness products set to debut Nov. 19 in Europe and Australia. Wearing a heart rate monitor and a motion sensor, he did a boxing and mountain biking workout with his heart rate and calories burned posted on-screen when he was done.