Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United’s long standing first choice goalkeeper, has confirmed he will be out for about 8 weeks recovering from a broken finger.

This is the ultimate chance for Ben Foster to prove his worth, if he is given the nod ahead of Tomasz Kuszczak.  Ferguson has said time and time again that he thinks Foster has great potential, and it seems he sees Kuszczak as peaked out as a backup goalie, whereas Foster has the talent to permanently replace Van Der Sar when he retires at the end of this season.

At the moment it seems Foster is lacking confidence and consistency; which can be seen in some of the blunders he made last season, and in pre-season.  You can get better at shot stopping, collecting corners and punching crosses on the training ground, but the only way to gain confidence is with a solid amount of match time.

I’m sure that Foster will make a few more awful mistakes in his first few games, but if Ferguson could just stick with him, at least until Van Der Sar returns, I think he will show just how good he is.

This would also be good news for England, as if Foster plays as well as I think he will this season, he will surely be on the plane for the world cup.  My prediction is that the #1 spot in the world cup squad will come down to Robert Green or Ben Foster.