Robert Green is looking forward to heading to China with less than a week until West Ham United meet Tottenham Hotspur in the opening match of the Barclays Asia Trophy.
The England goalkeeper signed off for the summer last month with two appearances for Fabio Capello's team in the FIFA World Cup wins against Kazakhstan and Andorra but returned to full training last weekend. Green joined up with the rest of the West Ham squad at their pre-season camp in Austria and played his first match of the summer in Wednesday's 1-1 friendly draw against Turkish side Bursaspor.
That 45-minute run-out came exactly seven days before the 2009/10 draws into sharp focus with the high-profile match against old rivals Spurs at the Workers Stadium in the Chinese capital. Green cannot wait to see what Beijing is all about at first hand. "I have never been," he said. "It will be an interesting trip and hopefully we will get a chance to see some of the city.
"Beijing sounds like an amazing place and an experience and if we can take some positive things from it then great."
Although Green is looking forward to seeing what China has to offer, he is also well aware of the task in hand on 29 July - defeating Tottenham to earn a spot in Friday week's final against either Hull City or local side Beijing Guoan. The derby encounter will take place more than 5,000 miles from London, but there will be plenty riding on the fixture.
"The draw was kind to us," the 29-year-old, who is on an unbroken run of 88 consecutive Barclays Premier League appearances, said with a wry smile. "But I am sure everyone will be finding their feet by then. It won't be quite the same atmosphere at Upton Park and so in that respect it will be good to play and just good to get out there. We have had four weeks off and the guys have come back fit and ready to go."