Craig Bellamy has won 56 international caps for Wales
Craig Bellamy has revealed Manchester City have apologised to him after his embarrassing no-show mix-up at last month's friendly in Montenegro.
The Premier League side forgot to inform Wales boss John Toshack that he would miss last month's 2-1 defeat as he recovered from a knee injury.
"There was a bit of a misunderstanding and Manchester City have apologised to me and Wales," captain Bellamy said.
"But if it's my name involved then I'm always going to get the blame."
Bellamy has won 56 caps since his international debut against Jamaica in 1998 as he has endured an injury-plagued career, suffering a host of serious knee injuries.
But the 30-year-old's commitment to Wales has been unwavering when he is fit and Bellamy even chartered his own plane to play in the 2-0 Welsh win in Finland in September 2002.
"You can comment whether I've been a good player or a bad player," said Bellamy.
"Everyone knows I've missed my fair share of internationals but never once have I rang up to say I'm not playing. I've left that to the medical people of the club I've been at.
"But one thing I have done is shown commitment. If I'm fit, I'm here and willing to play, if I'm not fit I don't play.
Points still important - Toshack
"All it takes is one little mix-up in communication and I get criticised which is disappointing after the commitment I've shown to Wales."
Toshack was furious when his skipper and attacking talisman Bellamy failed to report for Wales duty for Montenegro but City quickly released a statement admitting it was their fault.
Bellamy had aggravated his knee problem during a goal-scoring display in a friendly win over Celtic as City boss Mark Hughes wanted to protect him for their season opener with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Hughes, Toshack's Wales predecessor, said at the time: "We're conscious of the fact he finds it difficult to play Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday. So it was a case of protecting him for not only ourselves but for Wales."
But Bellamy was upset that he was blamed for his no-show.
"It was a little bit out of my control," said Bellamy.
"You're going to get one or two people that look at it from the outside and have a view because of the club that I'm at and who I am," said Bellamy.
"It is very easy to put a negative spin on the club and on myself - but it has been blown out of all proportion.
"It should have been sorted out and we shouldn't have been in this situation. But these things happen and its not the first time it has happened in international football.
"But because of who I am and as I'm at Manchester City, it was probably made into a bigger story than what it actually was."
Mega-rich City have been the talk of the summer with big-money summers signings of Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz, Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure.
While Bellamy has been one of the Premier League's most controversial figures over the years.
His career has been plagued by consistent knee problems and since taking over the international captaincy from Ryan Giggs in May 2007, he has been available just 10 times in 23 internationals.
Former Wales and Norwich team-mate Iwan Roberts urged Bellamy to consider stepping down as Wales skipper to concentrate on his own fitness and hand the armband over to someone who is regularly available for John Toshack.
Cardiff City midfielder Joe Ledley has led Wales in their last three games but Toshack has given the captain's armband back to Bellamy for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier with Russia at the Millennium Stadium.
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