Rui Patricio to wear No. 11 shirt at Wolves to honour Carl Ikeme

New Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio will wear No 11 this season after the club opted to leave the traditional No 1 free following the retirement of Carl Ikeme.

Newly-promoted Wolves officially confirmed their Premier League squad numbers on Friday, with Patricio taking 11 and fellow first-team goalkeepers John Ruddy and Will Norris retaining their respective 21 and 31 shirts.

Former No 1 Ikeme announced his retirement from professional football last month following a year-long battle with acute leukaemia.

The 32-year-old made over 200 appearances in 18 years at Molineux and called it quits on the advice of his doctor, citing the ‘toll the treatment has taken on my body’.

‘I want to be here for my children, family and friends,’ he said. ‘In the grand scheme of things with my life in danger, it’s the minimum price I have to pay to spend the rest of my time with my family.’

Portuguese international Patricio wore a blank No 11 shirt during pre-season at Wolves after arriving from Sporting Lisbon, where he was the long-term No 1.

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The decision to give it to him on a full-time basis drew plenty of reaction on social media, with one supporter stating: ‘Touch of class that no keeper is wearing the number 1 shirt and personally I like number 11 for our keeper.’

Another wrote: ‘A keeper wearing 11 hurts my eyes, but touch of class from the Wolves roll on tomorrow.’

Sporting Tribune

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