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Freddie - 'I Will Be Ready'
Written by Newcastle Utd
Rookie goalkeeper Freddie Woodman is confident that he'll be ready if called upon after he was recalled from his loan spell
By Dan King - Newcastle United Digital Editor
Freddie Woodman is confident that he will be ready should he be called upon to make his Barclays Premier League debut following Tim Krul's season-ending injury.
United's 18-year-old goalkeeper was recalled from a loan spell with Crawley Town after Krul suffered a ruptured anterior ligament while playing for Holland against Kazakhstan on Saturday evening.
Despite the Reds' indifferent form - they sit 18th in the League Two table - Woodman has impressed for Mark Yates' side and provided further evidence of his ability when he kept three clean sheets in three matches to help England qualify for the elite phase of the UEFA European Under-19 Championships.
And while reliable Republic of Ireland international Rob Elliot is likely to get the nod to face Norwich on Sunday, Woodman knows that Krul's injury could give him an opportunity over the next few weeks.
"That's football and these things happen, unfortunately for Tim," Woodman told TheFA.com.
"I was playing football at Crawley and really enjoying it, and I can't thank the manager, fans and everyone at the club enough because they gave me my chance in the Football League.
"I'm delighted that I was able to get 12 games for them and now I've got to look at this as a positive for me.
"I know I'll be number two but now after the experience I've gained, if a chance does come along and the gaffer needs me in the starting eleven, I'll be doing my very best to take it and show what I can do."
Woodman's most recent shut-out came in England under-19s' 0-0 draw against Italy on Tuesday, which followed clean sheets in victories against Finland and group hosts FYR Macedonia.
"It's always good keeping clean sheets and it's nice that I haven't conceded," he said. "But a lot of credit has to go to the defenders who have been playing in front of me.
"We've been working well as a unit and we've been demanding good performances from each other and clean sheets, so I think that is where our good defensive record comes from. So it's not just me keeping clean sheets, it's all the other boys as well.
"We know that if we keep clean sheets then we all back our strikers to get us goals at the other end."