Beckham out for up to a month

England captain David Beckham will be sidelined for up to a month with the rib injury he suffered in Saturday’s World Cup qualifying victory over Wales.

Beckham returned to Spain after the game to have his ribs examined by doctors at his club Real Madrid.

“Beckham will be out of action for three to four weeks,” said Doctor Juan Carlos Hernandez, a member of Real Madrid’s medical staff, on the club’s official website www.realmadrid.com.

“Additional tests done on the England player show that he has two small fractures in his ribs that are forcing him to rest and take anti-inflammatory medicine.”

In addition to missing Saturday’s game at Real Betis, Beckham will have to sit out the following La Liga fixture against reigning Spanish champions Valencia.

He is also set to miss Real’s next two Champions League games, both against Dynamo Kiev – despite Real sporting director Emilio Butragueno revealing he hoped Beckham would be available to face Kiev on Tuesday of next week.

He may also miss England’s next match which is a friendly against Spain in Real’s Bernabeu stadium on November 17.

England are playing without their skipper tonight in Azerbaijan, although Beckham would have been unavailable for the contest anyway after picking up too many yellow cards.

Hernandez revealed Beckham was experiencing a lot of discomfort.

“Such an injury makes him suffer while he walks, and even as he lies down,” said Hernandez.

“We can’t forget that this type of injury in this area is one of the most painful.”