Wolves’ John Ruddy: ‘Everyone’s thoughts are always with Carl Ikeme’

In the first blog of our weekly Football League series, John Ruddy says he hopes his fellow goalkeeper, who has leukaemia, will be part of any promotion party

At times this season, John Ruddy has enjoyed possibly the best view in the house. “We have had some games where I am literally just watching in awe of what they are doing,” the Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper says. His team-mates may have lit up the Championship but the ever-present Ruddy has brought plenty to the table too, notably 15 clean sheets, more than any other team in the country.

He is engaging and erudite, and makes tremendous company at the club’s training complex during a conversation that spans from never giving up on playing for England to being at ease on the lawn mower. But inside 45 seconds he inevitably stumbles upon the P-word. “I think the club and the hierarchy, in terms of the board and the owners, are fully focused on developing and progressing the club and obviously with that comes … promotion,” Ruddy says. It is difficult not to imagine Wolves returning to the Premier League for the first time since 2012; they have not lost since October.

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