Georgian international defender with a wealth of experience in the game.

Khizanishvili is captain of his national team and can play anywhere at the back or in a holding midfield role. He has excellent experience in the top flight and in the region of 300 career games under his belt, including almost 70 caps for his country and games in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup.

Khizanishvili began his career with three clubs in Tbilisi; Dinamo, Norch and Lokomotiv before attracting the attention of Dundee, who signed him in 2001. His form at Dens Park earned him a prestigious move to Scottish giants Glasgow Rangers, for whom he played in both the Champions League and UEFA Cup.

After three years at Ibrox, Mark Hughes paid £500,000 to take him to Blackburn Rovers and he thrived under the Welshman's management. The Georgian giant made almost 100 appearances for Rovers, including a UEFA Cup run which saw him take on Feyenoord and Bayer Leverkusen in 2006/7, and he also featured for parent club Blackburn in both domestic cup competitions last season.

Khizanishvili is the son of former Soviet international defender Nodar Georgiyevich Khizanishvili, who won the Russian league title 1978, the domestic cup twice in 1976 and 1979 and also lifted the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1981 - all as a Dinamo Tbilisi stalwart.

He initially spent four months on loan at Madejski Stadium at the end of 2009/10, making 15 appearances in blue and white hoops and impressing the Royals' faithful during a spell which saw Brian McDermott's men swiftly climb the table and almost achieve a play-off place. In fact, of those 15 Reading appearances, the Royals lost just three - and Zurab had also enjoyed a loan spell at champions elect Newcastle earlier in the Magpies' title-winning 2009/10 campaign.

On deadline day in August 2010, he then signed a season-long deal to return to Berkshire.