Woodgate puts World Cup hopes on hold

February 25, 2006

MADRID, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Real Madrid defender Jonathan Woodgate says he has put thoughts of making the England World Cup squad out of his head after suffering his latest injury setback.

The English centre-back will be out of action for two to three weeks after straining his hamstring in the opening minutes of his side's 1-0 defeat against Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Asked if he was still dreaming of winning a place in the England squad for the World Cup, Woodgate responded 'Right now, no' in an interview published by Spanish sports daily AS on Saturday.

'All I'm thinking about now is Madrid. Imagine if I got injured, I wouldn't feel good if I got injured when I was playing with the national side.'

Woodgate has suffered a succession of muscular injuries since he began playing after an 18-month lay-off because of a torn thigh muscle, but the 26-year-old insisted that he would not let his fitness problems get him down.

'Every time I get injured it is like starting from scratch again,' he said. 'No one likes getting injured, it's a horrible feeling.

'But you can't start feeling sorry for yourself. I don't want to cry about my own problems. The best thing is to cheer up and get on working with the physios.'

Former Leeds and Newcastle defender Woodgate has won five international caps for England, making his debut against Bulgaria in 1999.

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