Beckham has been ruled out of next week's Euro 2008 double-header with Israel and Russia after damaging knee ligaments in Los Angeles Galaxy's SuperLiga trophy final defeat to Pachuca on Wednesday.

The former England skipper has openly admitted he suffered the injury attempting to compensate for an ankle problem sustained on England duty against Estonia in the summer which he has never fully recovered from.

However, others suggest Beckham's body is struggling to cope with the excessive travelling he has been forced to undertake in an effort to combine England duty with his commitments in the USA at club level.

McClaren has no conclusive proof either way. However, he believes too much is being read into a situation which could affect any player, no matter how many flights they have been forced to take.

"Getting injured is not necessarily because of all the travelling and everything he has to do," he said.

"Injuries happen to footballers. It was a difficult schedule but it was something that he thought he could handle.

"I can't comment on his personal situation and whether he was playing injured.

"But I do not feel I was asking for trouble in recalling him because his performances warranted him staying in the squad."

Although Beckham did not have the best game of his 97-cap career against Germany last week, McClaren felt his involvement with the England set-up since his 12-month exile was ended last summer had only brought positive benefits.

And, while it could be argued Beckham has been absent for so much of McClaren's time in charge he has not been around long enough to be missed, losing the 32-year-old is a potentially grievous blow at a time when England are so short on quality with Frank Lampard now joining Wayne Rooney, Kieron Dyer and Gary Neville on the injured list.

"David is absolutely devastated as you might expect," he said.

"We have some big games coming up; five massive games. We have put ourselves in a position to qualify and it is in our hands.

"We need players who can handle the situation and David is one of them. It is a big blow that he will not be with us."