Real Madrid centre back Jonathan Woodgate has confirmed he will play on loan in England this season in an attempt to get regular games and prove that he has overcome his long-standing injury problems.
"I'm going to go on loan for a year and I'll know which team I'm going to join in the next few days," the 26-year-old was quoted as saying in the Spanish media on Saturday.
"I like all the English teams that want me and it would be a positive step for me to go back to England. I need to play games in order to show that I'm strong and completely recovered.
"At Real Madrid it is difficult to have any continuity, but in a year I will come back to Madrid to prove that I am a good footballer."
Woodgate joined Real on a four-year deal from Newcastle United in August 2004 for close to 20 million euros (13.5 million pounds) despite the fact that he was suffering from a serious thigh injury when he was signed.
He did not play his first league match for Real until over a year later and his debut became the stuff of nightmares when he scored an own goal and was sent off against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu in September 2005.
Although he produced some assured performances, a succession of later injuries to his ankle and thigh prevented him playing regularly and getting match fit.
He was on the verge of earning a return to the England squad in November when he suffered a hamstring tear in a league match against Real Zaragoza and his season ended when he had a recurrence of the injury in Real's 1-0 Champions League defeat by Arsenal in February.
