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Johnstone’s absence from the Euros this summer opens up an opportunity for Henderson, who has impressed during his four starts for Palace since returning to the team last month. He believes he should be selected as the third-choice goalkeeper behind Jordan Pickford and Aaron Ramsdale for the tournament in Germany.
Henderson stated, “Why not? When I was fit in the past, I’ve always been in the England set-up — you don’t become a bad keeper overnight.” The goalkeeper, who earned his only cap in 2020 and was last called up to an England squad in September 2022, added, “Sometimes you need a block of work to get back to your best. Obviously, I’ve got a block of work in there now, and I’m starting to get back to my best.”
Being the third-choice goalkeeper at a major tournament can be isolating, but Henderson expressed that it wouldn’t be as lonely as the past 11 months have been. He described his struggles, saying, “I’ve been to hell and back, getting injury after injury and with things not quite working out.” However, he is now content to be back playing, which he considers a significant achievement. Henderson stated, “I’d love to go in any capacity. I’ll go and save shots, try and save penalties, help England out in any way. I’ll get the nod hopefully.”
A goal from Eberechi Eze in the 14th minute gave Palace a lead to defend at Anfield, and Henderson was exceptional, making outstanding saves to deny Luis Dias and Darwin Nunez.
“I’ve been working towards that performance now for a few weeks,” he said.
“The manager [Oliver Glasner] genuinely said to us, ‘We’re going to win today,’ and that’s huge.
“We came here to win. We were written off by every single person and that’s the best feeling. Eleven men in front of 62,000 people. There was only one [fanbase] celebrating and that was the 3,000 Palace fans, so I’m delighted.”
Palace have moved eight points above the drop-zone with a game in hand on Luton and Burnley. Midfielder Adam Wharton said: “We took our chances.”
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