Goalkeeper Woodman, who has represented England at U16, U17, U18 and U19 level has been promoted to the first-team squad at St. James Park this season and appeared on the bench 13 times.
But despite his undoubted potential, his manager is keen to protect his young shotstopper so that the club can benefit for the years to come.
'Fred's going to be a top goalkeeper, no danger of that'
John Carver
“We played Leicester away and I had many people saying to me we should have played Freddie Woodman. He’s going to be a top goalkeeper, no danger of that,” Carver told The Chronicle ahead of Sunday’s trip to Everton in the Premier League.
“We’ve all seen how good he is. If I’d have stuck him in at 17 and we lost by more, his world could have come tumbling down.
“I could have knocked him back six or 12 months or even his career by putting him in a situation that was unnecessary.
“So any young player, and I learned this from Sir Bob [Sir Bobby Robson], that is good enough and strong enough to deal with it - not a problem.
“Anybody who you might have a little doubt about, because it might effect their long-term future, I wouldn’t consider it.”
Newcastle United head coach John Carver
Despite Carver’s protective nature, the Magpies boss has allowed another of the club’s young keepers to leave on loan this week and insists he would have no qualms should he have to call upon Woodman’s services before the end of the season.
“I use Freddie as an example because by not playing him, he’s then been on the bench a few times and trained with the first team in the last three months,” he added.
“Now he will be ready for it. We have let Jak Alnwick go to Bradford on loan.
“I am confident enough now that if anything happened to Tim [Krul] or Rob Elliot that I would say ‘Go on Freddie.”
