Spain v England
International Friendly
Estádio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
17 November 2004

England goalkeeping coach Ray Clemence is backing Chris Kirkland to finally put his injury nightmares behind him and push strongly for a place in the England team.

Kirkland has only played 37 games for Liverpool since making the £6million move from Coventry in August 2001.

The talented keeper has been struck with knee ligament problems, broken finger and a damaged wrist since arriving at Anfield.

But Kirkland has finally regained full fitness and looked back to his best when Liverpool beat Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

And Clemence who won five league championships and three European Cups with Liverpool during the 1970s is hoping Kirkland can now follow in his footsteps and become a major star for both club and country.

Clemence, speaking on Sky Sports said: "I hope he continues to play without any ill-effects and that will be great news for everyone.

"He has already been in the England squad and we have always said he is another one who is pushing to get a chance in the side.

"But he needs to play games and thankfully he is getting a run in the Liverpool side now.

"That is the first time I saw him go down on Wednesday night and come back up without getting injured.

"It was a European night and there was a lot of play in front of him, so he didn't have a lot to do.

"But what he had to do, he did more than competently. Those are the sort of big games he needs to play in."

Sven will name his England squad for the match against Spain here on TheFA.com on the evening of Saturday 13 November.