ROME Injured AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso said on Wednesday that former England captain David Beckham has been a revelation at the club.

Gattuso faces several months on the sidelines after injuring his cruciate knee ligament in December but Beckham has come in to fill his place in the team and is quickly becoming a favourite for players and fans alike.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is on a two-and-a-half month loan from his current club LA Galaxy.

`Hes surprised me in a positive way. Hes a great professional, he arrives at training two or three hours early,` said the Italian midfield general.

`Hes not Kaka but hes a great player. Hes playing in my position because Im injured but were completely different.`

`For sure he sets up more goals than I do but I win back more balls.` Gattuso also turned his attention to Kaka in an interview on Italia 1, and said he faced a similar situation in the summer when many thought he would leave Milan.

`Kaka is an idol, he had a good think about it (leaving) but everyone really wants him here,` he said.

`Hes in a team that helped him to win the Ballon DOr. Last year I also thought that my Milan experience was over and I would be going to Bayern (Munich) but then the club and I cleared things up.`

Gattuso also spoke about homosexuality in football, a subject that came up in a magazine article last year when an unknown third division player claimed he worked as a gigolo on the side and had slept with many Serie A players, including some in the Italy team.

`Ive never seen a gay on the pitch. Ive got nothing against gays, I even know a few, but during my 14-year career Ive never met one,` he said.

`And as I said a while ago, as far as Im concerned a man and a woman get married in church.`