Woodgate hoping for injury-free year at Real

Real Madrid centre-back Jonathan Woodgate is hoping he can stay fit after recovering from the latest in a string of injuries that have blighted his career.

"I hope this year will be different for me and that all my problems have come to an end," the 26-year-old England international told sports daily Marca on Friday.

"I hope everything is going to change. I have to take things step by step and not rush but I'm no longer injured."
 
Woodgate, who has been out of action for three weeks with a calf strain, joined Real from Newcastle United in August 2004 with a serious thigh injury and did not make his debut until over a year later.

He suffered a minor ankle injury in a practice match in training in October last year and then tore his hamstring in a league match against Real Zaragoza at the start of November just as he was about to be recalled to the England squad.

He returned to action at the start of the year but then experienced problems with his calf after playing in the 0-0 draw against Villarreal on Jan. 8 and has not been in action since.

"When I got injured against Zaragoza I thought to myself, 'This is another nightmare. When is it all going to end?'. My legs hurt but I had wanted to play but maybe I shouldn't have done it."

The former Leeds United player says he is in optimistic mood about the remainder of the season and is thriving under the training regime introduced by new coach Juan Ramon Lopez Caro.

"I'm a happy man now," he said. "I'm always positive, never negative. The doctors told me that I was going to play again and here I am."

"In Spain you usually train less than in England, but now under Lopez Caro we are training like they do in England ... It's good to train like this."