David Beckham says he knew immediately he had broken his ribs

Painkillers dulled the throb of his damaged ribs but a sense of frustration coursed through David Beckham on Monday. A man who adores playing for Real Madrid and England, the midfielder is aggrieved he will miss up to five weeks? action. Beckham is also angry that people do not understand he was being professional, not petulant or irresponsible, by getting booked against Wales. ?It was deliberate,? he said.

Having broken his ribs before, Beckham immediately knew when Ben Thatcher ran into him at Old Trafford that he would not play for a month at least. Much to the irritation of this proud patriot, Beckham understood England would be flying out to Azerbaijan for Wednesday?s World Cup qualifier while he was recuperating. Seeking to find some positive in a negative, Beckham decided to use up a one-game suspension by clattering Thatcher.

The Norwegian referee, Terje Hauge, duly obliged by cautioning him. Former England captains of the esteemed calibre of Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker promptly castigated Beckham on television. Monday?s headlines brought further censure, depicting the midfielder as foolish. But Beckham insisted he knew what he was doing in targeting Thatcher to earn yellow.

?I am sure some people think that I have not got the brains to be that clever,? said Beckham, speaking from his home in Hertfordshire. ?But I do have the brains. I could feel the injury. So I fouled Thatcher. It was deliberate. I knew straight away I had broken my ribs. I have done it before. I knew I would be out for a few weeks, so I thought let?s get the yellow card out of the way.

?It?s frustrating. Saturday was a positive game for me personally. I scored one of my best goals ever, up there with those against Greece, Colombia and Wimbledon. I had criticism leading up to the game, so scoring the goal meant a lot. I wanted to prove to people I can still score goals like that.

?That goal reminded everyone of my talent and it was great to do it back at Old Trafford. But some of the headlines were ?great goal but yellow card again?. People pick up on the negatives rather than the positives. That?s sad. Some people have other agendas, hidden agendas. They build you up, (and) bring you down.?

A determined competitor, Beckham?s desire to deliver for club and country remains resolute. At times, Beckham deserve the criticism, notably for underachieving at Euro 2004 and a poor display in Vienna last month, but he was good against Wales. As well as that terrific strike, he worked hard in midfield and was feeling confident about his football life when he ran into Thatcher.

?The frustrating thing about the whole situation is that I have been playing well for Real and was back scoring for England,? he added. ?I had stayed away from any trouble in the game and was doing well and then I got injured. Thatcher fouled me. I respect him as a player and for his aggressive side. He is strong. But I have watched the video again and he doesn?t look at the ball when he comes in at me... But these things happen. I don?t have a problem with Thatcher.

?It?s a frustrating injury because there is no treatment. I can?t go running or training because it hurts too much. The last time I broke my ribs (at United), Alex Ferguson put me on a bike after two weeks and I couldn?t do it. I couldn?t breathe. There is nothing you can do apart from rest.?