SHANGHAI (AFP) - England football superstar David Beckham is bringing his LA Galaxy team to China's largest city Shanghai for a game against a largely youth team on March 5, state media reported Friday.

Beckham will play just 45 minutes to "avoid injuries" ahead of the start of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season in the United States, the Shanghai Daily said.

Captained by the England star, Galaxy will play China's East Asia, a team of youngsters most of whom are less than 20 years old, the report said.

Galaxy will play it safe with one of the world's costliest midfielders, who moved from Spanish club Real Madrid, the report said, citing assistant general manager Tom Payne.

Beckham's star appeal helped draw major attention for MLS from US fans but knee and ankle injuries limited him to five MLS appearances as Galaxy missed the playoffs in 2007 for the second year in a row.

The club could play one more game in China before the team heads to South Korea, the next leg of their Asia tour ahead of the MLS season opener in late March, the newspaper reported.