Garry O’Connor has signed a new six-month deal with Birmingham City (200/1 to win the Premier League).
The 27-year-old striker missed most of last season with hip problems, undergoing two operations.
Now the former Hibernian and Locomotiv Moscow player has been offered a short term deal and the chance to impress boss Alex McLeish.
Edinburgh- born O’Connor has been hampered by injuries throughout his time at St Andrew’s, having signed in July 2007. He has played 58 times, but 31 of them have been appearances from off the bench.
O’Connor’s best spell was towards the end of his second season at the club when he scored six goals in 11 games to help City clinch promotion back to the Premier League.
Birmingham (5/1 to be relegated) boss McLeish said: “Garry has had a chronic groin and hip injury and it probably goes back to his Hibs days and the days he spent in Russia when he played on a synthetic surface. Having two hip injuries simultaneously wasn’t easy for him.
“If you imagine him fully fit without those problems then that’s what we’ve got to see – what Garry can produce without these hiccups.
“Successful operation and barring major breakdown there’s no reason why he can’t go on to have a successful career.”
Blues’ acting chairman Peter Pannu added: “The club is looking forward to reintegrating him into the squad. We have no doubt he has a bright future with the club and we wish him the best in his fresh endeavours.”
The Scotland international began his career with Hibs, where his performances in 2002 earned him a call-up to the international squad for the first time at the tender age of 18.
McLeish has been associated with the player since the start, giving him his first start at Hibs in April 2001.
But ironically it was once McLeish had departed to Rangers that O’Connor really came into his own, under successive bosses Franck Sauzee, Bobby Williamson and Tony Mowbray.
He linked up with Derek Riordan at Easter Road, and the pair scored 42 goals between them to earn the Edinburgh side a UEFA Cup berth in the 2005-06 season.
O’Connor signed a £16,000-a-week contract with Locomotiv Moscow in March 2006, and was a hit with his new team. He came off the bench to score the winner in Locomotiv?s 2007 Russian Cup final against FC Moscow.
The striker was signed for £2.7 million by Blues in June 2007, having failed to settle in Russia.
He had two years in the international wilderness from 2007, but was recalled for back-to-back games against Macedonia and the Netherlands in September 2009.
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