Whether you're playing for the national team or your Sunday morning team, at times both can get over competitive and physical.

There's more at stake for players like Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney, but it's all relative and the moment you score or clear the ball off the line, the elation for that split second is much the same regardless.

It's the same with a bad tackle. A bad tackle will hurt just as much whether you're wearing the Three Lions or Sunday morning stripes.

Theo Walcott is one who seems destined to be cursed by injuries caused by those extra physical tackles that he just can't avoid.

Did you see his latest injury against San Marino recently?

That collision with goalkeeper Aldo Junior Simoncini left Walcott with a suspected broken rib which is likely to keep him absent from action for some time.

A bruised or fractured rib is incredibly common in any contact sport. The strangest thing about a rib injury is that sometimes a fracture will heal quicker than a simple bruise will fade.

The problem with the rib cage area is that there are very few muscles in that part of the body to protect from the impact.

The same is true for the top of your foot. Ever followed through with your shot and kicked the bottom of your opponents studs?

The pain and bruising is sometimes as bad as a fracture and the lay-off can be just as long.

In football this sort of rib injury will happen from an elbow, running into the shoulder or bony part of your opponent's body or from landing awkwardly on a hard surface.

The pain is enough to take your breath away and in the first few minutes it's likely you will have the wind knocked out of you also.

The best thing to do when you're winded is to stay calm and relaxed and keep your head down. Do not be tempted to lift your head up to try and take in more air - the pressure in your lungs is more important and by keeping your head down will increase the flow of oxygen back to the lungs much faster.

With a broken rib there really isn't anything other than time that can help.

If the rib is bruised, as turned out to be the case with Arsenal's Walcott, you're still going to be sidelined for anything up to six weeks. These bones are so small and fragile that they really aren't great at healing so the best advice I can give is to use lots of ice in the first few days, then bring out the hot water bottle to encourage the blood supply.

Avoid anything that is likely to involve impact and you will probably find that you can go for a run after a week or ten days.

But be careful not to go too fast too soon or you will quickly find yourself out of breath. Time is the only healer.