Express & Star

John Ruddy can’t wait for Wolves run-in to start

Goalkeeper John Ruddy expects Wolves to have renewed vigour when they return from the international break and try and clinch promotion as soon as possible.

Published
Last updated

League leaders Wolves only need to win a maximum of four more wins from their final eight fixtures to reach the Premier League.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will return to action a week tomorrow when they travel to face play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough.

Ruddy said: “Eight games to go, we’ll go into it as fresh as we can with renewed vigour, if you like.

“Everyone should be on the front foot.

“We look forward to getting going again.”

A number of Wolves’ key first-team players have jetted off across Europe and Africa to link up with their national teams during the international break, with Benik Afobe, Ruben Neves, Romain Saiss and Barry Douglas among nine players with first-team experience to earn call-ups.

For the rest it will be a case of rest and recuperation, as well as a few days of hard work ahead of the big run-in.

“We’ve been given a few days off to recharge and refresh which I think is really important,” Ruddy added. “We’ve got a good few working days in there as well which is important to maintain fitness levels going into the final eight games of the season.

“There’s a lot of recovery, which is probably warranted and it’s been a long time since the last international break.

“It comes at a good time for us, as it probably does for the rest of the league.

“Then we’re back to action – it’s a cliché and it sounds boring but it’s got to be one game at a time.”

Meanwhile, defender Phil Ofosu-Ayeh continued his injury comeback with 23 minutes for Scott Sellars’ under-23 side yesterday.

They beat Exeter 3-1 in a penalty shoot-out in the Premier League Cup.