Hibs kid Sean out to banish injury woes after new deal

Courageous Hibs kid Sean Welsh today vowed to make up for time lost to a string of serious injuries after penning a new one-year deal with the club.

The midfield youngster has endured years of injury setbacks, suffering a horrific double leg-break at the age of just 14 before, as captain of Hibs' all-conquering Under-19 side, he was forced to look on as his team-mates clinched an unprecedented League and Cup double within the space of days having broken his foot.

As if that wasn't enough, the 21-year-old has undergone three cartilage operations on his left knee and was back on crutches yet again as he broke down in the first training session of last summer's pre-season tour of Holland as he entered the final year of his contract.

But having played 17 matches while out on loan with Stirling Albion, the lifelong Hibs fan is now determined to follow his team-mates from those teenage days – Paul Hanlon, David Wotherspoon and Callum Booth – in donning a green and white shirt in the SPL.

And far from feeling sorry for himself, Welsh insisted it was still up to him to prove himself to new boss Colin Calderwood, well aware that in the unforgiving world of professional football he'll be afforded little if any leeway.

He said: "I reckon that because of all the injuries I am 18 months behind where I would like to have been by this time.I've had a bad time, I haven't had the best of luck but that's football and I just have to get on with it. Of course, every time I've had an injury I've feared the worst but I've kept my head down, worked hard to come back from each of them and I've got the reward with another year to get myself into the team.

"I broke my leg at 14, my foot towards the end of the season when the Under-19s did so well and I was captain and then I had three operations on my knee. Last summer I worked really hard and then in the very first training session in Holland my knee went again

"But I went to Stirling, played 17 matches which was good for me and proved my knee is holding up. As a boy from Lochend and a Hibs fan all my life my dream has been to pull on a jersey for the first team and that dream is still very much alive.

"It's been great to see guys like Paul, David and Callum, who I played with, come through and establish themselves in the first team. Now I hope I get my chance to follow them."

The fact he'll be competing with the likes of Wotherspoon, Victor Palsson, Matt Thornhill, Martin Scott, Edwin de Graaf and Lewis Stevenson isn't, Welsh insisted, a worry. He said: "Yes, there will be stiff competition but that's good.

"I have to prove myself, show I am better and worthy of a place in the team. The gaffer has shown he is willing to play youngsters which is good and now it is very much up to me."

Meanwhile, Ricardo Vaz Te says he will play a waiting game to see if he is offered a new deal with Hibs.

The former Bolton forward made ten appearances for Hibs but is now back home in Portugal as he waits for an offer from Hibs manager Colin Calderwood.

Vaz Te, 24, said: "I loved my time at Hibs. It was a positive experience and that's the main thing. Initially they said they were interested in keeping me and I take the manager's word very seriously but I am still waiting for them to make the first move. My agent has not had an offer yet but I am sure something will come up. I am just relaxing. My agent does the talking. I just get on with playing and if there is something he will make me aware."