Last month’s 90 minutes against Everton marked a landmark 250th appearance for Joel Ward. However, despite the full-back regularly commenting on how he looks forward – no doubt targeting his 253rd appearance v Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night – the full-back did allow himself a moment to appreciate the praise offered to him by Roy Hodgson.
“To get that recognition is few and far between nowadays in the Premier League,” Ward admits. “But it’s always nice to get that praise."
Two-hundred-and-fifty-two games is a lot of minutes, tackles and clearances.