Portsmouth keeper David James insists he is not worried by his
persistent calf injury, despite having missed a large part of the
season so far.
The 39-year-old England shot-stopper has only played twice
since the end of October but is not concerned that he will not be
able to return to top form.
With James hoping to secure the number one spot for Fabio
Capello's side in next year's World Cup, and aiming to keep Pompey
in the Premier League, he is keen to return to action as soon as
possible.
He concedes that both club and country duties are of equal
importance and insists his fitness is not suffering because of his
spell on the sidelines.
"This is just one injury," he said in The Times. "My fitness
is not a problem.
"As regards the England scenario, my focus has to be on
Portsmouth because I can't have one without the other."
The experienced goalkeeper is far from assured of a starting
place in Fabio Capello's World Cup side, and certain quarters have
argued that his age will hamper his recovery.
"Age doesn't register with me," he added. "It genuinely is
just a number in that respect.
"People go on about you getting older and things happen,
blah, blah. But you know what? You're only as old you feel."
The likes of Robert Green and Ben Foster have been touted as
possible replacements for James, while Birmingham's Joe Hart and
Blackburn's Paul Robinson have both been in good form so far this
season.
James believes Foster has a lot of potential, but thinks he
first has to replace Edwin van der Sar at Manchester United.
"Edwin is awesome," he remarked. "I respect all goalkeepers
because of the goalkeepers' union and all that, but Edwin really is
different gravy.
"Put it this way, I'm sure that if I watch any weekend's
football from across Europe, I can find you 101 great saves which
Edwin might not make, but as a goalkeeper, looking at his
distribution, his control, his composure, he's awesome.
"I think Edwin van der Sar is Ben's biggest challenge. It's
difficult when you're trying to establish yourself as a young
goalkeeper at a top club.
"I had it at Liverpool. The margins for error are so small.
At that top end of the table, failure isn't tolerated."
