Woodgate wait goes on

Five more months
English international Woodgate has yet to play a competitive match for Madrid since his August transfer from Newcastle United FC because of the injury to his left thigh. And the defender must now wait at least another five months after club doctors ruled him out of the remainder of the current campaign.

'Not the end of me'
"The doctors have told me that I am out for the rest of the season," said the 25-year-old former Leeds United AFC player. Woodgate ripped muscle fibres in the injured thigh in the build-up to last summer's UEFA European Championship. His failure to overcome the problem has raised doubts about his long-term future, but the centre-back insisted that "the injury will not be the end of me". He added: "I am determined to play at the top again."