Injury-plagued defender Woodgate has penned a one-year contract at the Britannia Stadium after his deal at Tottenham expired. The 31-year-old has undoubted talent but his career has been decimated by injury to the extent that he was able to make just four appearances in the last two seasons at White Hart Lane due to a groin problem. The centre-back was delighted to be handed an opportunity with the Potters and is ready to prove he can still cut it in the Premier League. "It was important for me to work hard on my fitness during the summer because I wasn't sure where I would be playing and I knew that would decide my future," Woodgate told the club's website. "So hopefully I can stay fit now because I feel I still have a lot to offer at this level. "With the back-up from the medical and sports science department which they have here at Stoke, that can only help my prospects of doing that." He added: "I was thrilled when Tony Pulis asked me to come and join the club. "I'd spoken to him a couple of times about the progress that Stoke have made over the past three seasons and his plans for the future in aiming to build on that success." Woodgate will not fly out to the team's pre-season training camp and will instead meet his new team-mates later this week when they return from Austria. Woodgate started out at Leeds before spells with Newcastle, Real Madrid and Middlesbrough. He joined Spurs for £8million in January 2008 but only made 49 league appearances. He has also won eight England caps, the last of which came in August 2008 against the Czech Republic at Wembley.
