WEST Ham United striker Craig Bellamy has been sleeping in an altitude tent in a bid to save his injury-plagued career.

The 29-year-old Wales international captain has made 12 first-team appearances since joining the Irons from Blackburn Rovers in a £7.5million deal in July 2007.

This season, Bellamy has been restricted to just 73 minutes of Premier League football by stomach, groin and hamstring problems.

And the former Liverpool, Newcastle United and Glasgow Celtic forward has revealed the extraordinary lengths he has gone to in an attempt to make a successful comeback.

"I have got my own altitude tent and I sleep in it every night because it speeds up recovery and improves overall fitness," he told BBC Sport.

"This is a critical stage of my career and if I cut corners it would have been tough for me to come back."

The specially-designed tent pumps in air with a lower oxygen concentration, helping to increase his body's production of red blood cells and increase the speed of recovery in his damaged muscles.

It is the latest measure the Cardiff-born player has taken to put an end to the injury problems that have blighted his career since he was a teenager at Norwich City.

Back in July 1999, Bellamy suffered a horrific knee injury in the Canaries' pre-season friendly at Southend United that left him out of action for a year and needing career-saving surgery from knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman.

And the hitman's latest attempt to get fit has been equally drastic.

"My rehabilitation has been quite extraordinary," he added.

"And I want to really attack the last years of my career in a positive manner.

"The altitude tent improves endurance, helps speed and makes you a fitter athlete."

Bellamy's tent experiment will receive its first major test when he lines up for Wales in two 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Leichtenstein and Germany over the next week.

"I'm ready to play 90 minutes and play two games in five days because I feel good and I've done all of the groundwork," he insisted.