Aaron Calver was 16 when he made his A-League debut for Sydney FC. Seven years on and the Sky Blues defender insists he's more ready than ever to finally stake his claim for his favoured centre-back role for his local club. A hamstring injury to import Jop van der Linden has opened the door for Calver to play some major minutes, beginning with Friday's clash with ladder leaders Perth. Club officials confirmed van der Linden is out for three weeks with a minor hamstring tear, ruling him out until their round 13 clash against Adelaide. Calver was slated to partner Alex Wilkinson in last week's derby win over Western Sydney, with the Dutchman likely to be dropped by coach Steve Corica. But an overnight stomach bug for Wilkinson scuppered Corica's plans and Calver instead ran out alongside van der Linden in the 3-1 victory. "I knew during the week I had a feeling I could start but I didn't know Wilko would be sick until (game day)," Calver told AAP. But that partnership lasted just 15 minutes after van der Linden went down with a hamstring injury, forcing Corica to use Brandon O'Neill as a makeshift defender. Their depth got tested when Calver suffered cramps midway through the second half, leaving Corica no choice but to call on recent signing Jacob Tratt. "I felt I got into the game (against the Wanderers) quite nicely but in the end I just had a few cramps from not playing for so long," Calver said. "It was very humid and the (storm) delay before the game resulting in a few warm-ups we had to do probably didn't help." Tratt claimed the game-sealing third goal, however, Calver is expected to be named alongside the returning Wilkinson to take on the Glory. It will be the first time Calver, 22, has started in back-to-back games since April last year, while only twice has he been in the run-on side in three straight weeks. It's been a long wait for the local product, who made his debut in a side that included Alessandro Del Piero, Brett Emerton and Jason Culina. Only Calver and Rhyan Grant remain from that squad. Across his five seasons with the club, Calver's 38 total appearances is lower than the 40 games when he was an unused substitute. "It's a big opportunity for me. I've been here seven years now and haven't played too many consistent games. Hopefully now I can kick on with it," Calver said. "We've got a couple of injuries at the moment so hopefully I can make this spot mine. It's no fun sitting on the bench every week, so hopefully I can play well." Australian Associated Press

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