London, Dec.31 AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini has praised the work ethic of loan signing David Beckham.

The England midfielder is in Dubai with the rest of the Milan squad after joining the team on a short-term deal from the Los Angeles Galaxy and has taken part in his first training session with his new teammates. Beckham has not played since the end of the MLS season in October, but Maldini is confident the former Manchester United star will be match fit again soon.

"Beckham is a great champion, but we shouldn't forget that he has come into a great team and a great club like Milan," The Telegraph quoted Maldini, as saying.

"We players don't care what his life is like off the pitch, we have found a lad who has not trained for two and a half months, but I have had the chance to talk to him and I noticed his determination and his great desire to put himself to work immediately to return to playing as soon as possible."

Beckham officially becomes a Milan player on Jan 7 and could make his debut four days later, against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. (ANI)