‘Overwhelmed' Beckham thanks well-wishers

England captain David Beckham today thanked the thousands of well-wishers who are praying his broken foot mends in record time.

The midfield maestro spoke from his Cheshire home and revealed how devastated the injury has left him.

His words come as punters across the country gamble thousands of pounds on him making the World Cup.

Beckham faces at least six weeks out of action after the crunching tackle on Wednesday from Deportivo La Coruna’s Argentinian midfielder Aldo Pedro Duscher.

As well as disappointment at his club, Manchester United, the entire nation is now holding its breath to see if the national skipper will be fit for the World Cup finals this summer.

Beckham said: ‘‘The messages of goodwill I have been receiving have been overwhelming I have always said that Manchester United fans are the best in the world and times like this remind you just how great they are.’’

The star said that despite the country’s World Cup fears the tournament starts for England on June 2 against Sweden he is desperately sad to be missing the rest of Manchester United’s season.

That includes the battle for the Premiership title and the crucial closing stages of the European Champions League, in which United have a chance of reaching the final after beating Spanish side La Coruna in the quarter finals on Wednesday.

Beckham said: ‘‘Having seen the newspapers in the last few days, the media focus seems to have been mainly around the World Cup whereas I have been thinking about the Manchester United games I will be missing.

‘‘The season has been building up to a great finish and I wanted to play my part in another triumphant year.’’

Returning to the fans, he added: ‘‘I will be joining them in the stands for the next few weeks, giving the lads every support as they try to make this another great year for our manager and everyone connected with the club.’’

Beckham was pictured getting out of a Mercedes Benz at his home today, complete with crutches, after yet another treatment session.

His importance to England was made only too clear when his free-kick against Greece in the qualifying stages saw his country secure a place in the World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

Punters showed their faith that the soccer hero will make the World Cup with tens of thousands of pounds being gambled on him being there.

Bookmakers William Hill are offering odds of 1/7 that he is fit and 4/1 that he is not.

But Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said: ‘‘Punters only seem to want to bet that he’ll be fit to play in at least one game.

‘‘We’ve taken scores of bets of up to a thousand pounds a time on him - but almost none for him to miss the competition completely.’’

In Beckham’s absence defender Rio Ferdinand is favourite for the captain’s armband at odds of 9/2.