Zurab Khizanishvili

Zurab Khizanishvili is a defender who was on the books of Blackburn Rovers in 2010-11.

Tall, calm and comfortable on the ball, Zurab is a versatile player who can feature as a central defender, at right back and in the midfield holding role. After playing his early football in Georgia, Zurab spent time in Scotland with Dundee and Rangers before joining Blackburn on loan in August 2005, signing permanently the following April.

Zurab was initially a regular in the line-up for Rovers but following a change in management he received limited first-team opportunities. He spent most of 2009-10 out on loan, firstly with Newcastle United and then Reading, returning to the Madejski Stadium for the whole of 2010-11.

He enjoyed a successful time with the Royals, helping them reach the play-off final where they lost out to Swansea City for a place in the Premier League. A regular at international level for Georgia, he has appeared over 70 times for his country over the last decade.

Zurab was out of contract with Blackburn in the summer of 2011 and moved to Turkey, signing for Kayserispor.