Ten months after recovering from a renewed injury, following a difficult rehabilitation period after a complex operation last summer, Defender Jonathan Woodgate arrived from England to Madrid eager to finally debut with the Royal club and asked to be allowed to play in the "Bernabeu Cup" match against the USA "MLS" league stars team next Tuesday.
Last week was very successful for the English national team defender: on Wednesday, he successfully passed a strength test and other medical check-ups, and on Friday played one half with the "Real C" youth team. Despite the opponents being 16-17 year old footballers, both he and coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo were satisfied with his performance.
The player himself stated that he wanted to get on the field as soon as possible wearing "Real" shirts: "I don't feel any pain in my leg. I'm not scared and I really want to play as soon as possible."
However, this is not the first time the Englishman intends to return to the field, so it is possible that the club's medical staff and coaches will ask J.Woodgate to wait at least until August 31, when "Real" will play their first Spanish King's Cup match.