Source: PA
Weaver ready to take his chance
New Burnley goalkeeper Nicky Weaver intends to seize his chance of Premier League resurrection with both hands knowing he has a dead man to thank for the fact he is still playing.
Weaver, a former England Under-21 international keeper who at one time was viewed as the long-term successor to David Seaman in the senior national side, has signed for the Clarets after his contract with Dundee United came to an end.
It represents a return to a league he last played in three years ago when Stuart Pearce was manager of Manchester City and when he had only just recovered from a serious knee injury that was cured by having the cartilage of a dead man implanted.
The memories of that injury and the pain of the long recovery process have made Weaver, still only 30, all the more determined to seize his latest chance - and he may be called into action when Chelsea visit Turf Moor.
Weaver said: "It's up to me to take it and prove I can still do it at the highest level. Everyone wants to play as high as they possibly can and it's up to me to get into the team and take my chance.
"I'm more experienced now, I class myself as a decent age for a keeper and hopefully I've many years left in the game still. I've also learned from my injuries in the past not to take anything for granted."
