Bionic man Spearing determined to show his Wembley mettle

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UPDATED:

21:22 GMT, 28 April 2012

Chelsea may have handled Lionel Messi
with only 10 men but Liverpool will have their own diminutive, homegrown
bionic man to unleash on Roberto di Matteo's side at Wembley.

Jay Spearing, at 5ft 6in the
fourth-shortest player in the Premier League, must have feared his time
at Anfield was up last year when Kenny Dalglish went on a 100million
spending spree to rebuild a team which had failed under Roy Hodgson.

Combative: Liverpool's Jay Spearing

Instead, the combative midfielder has become one of the club's most important players as they chase a second trophy of the season, having already won the Carling Cup.

With Lucas and Charlie Adam injured, it will be a big stage for Spearing – first picked up by Liverpool as an eightyear- old – to hold the midfield together alongside his boyhood hero, Steven Gerrard.

Now 23, the scars on Spearing's right leg tell the story of his determination to be part of Liverpool's future. He broke his leg in 2006, just as he was dreaming of breaking into the big time. He still has a metal rod inserted in his leg as a consequence – hence the bionic tag.

'I'd just started the Academy year. I think I had only played two games and I fractured my tibia, snapping it in half,' he said.

'I was out for about eight months and it really knocked me.

'[Academy chief] Steve Heighway took me under his wing and told the doctor he wanted me back. The doctor agreed that the best way to get back quickly was to put a rod in the leg. I've had screws taken out of the ankle since but the rod is still there to this day.

'It was a blow at the time because other youth-team lads like Craig Linfield, Bobby Threlfall and Stephen Darby moved from the Academy to train with the first team at Melwood and I was left behind. Thankfully it worked out OK. I had the belief in myself to get there.'

With Jamie Carragher and Gerrard in the autumn of their careers, Liverpool fans are grateful the performances of Spearing and Martin Kelly are keeping the tradition alive of local players wearing a red shirt with pride.

'Local lads are always going to be a massive part of this club,' he said.

'The last one to come before me was Steve G and the impact he and Carra have had has been massive. I think the fans have always preferred a local lad to come through.

'When I was about 18, I couldn't speak to Stevie [through nerves]. I just put my head down. It took me a year or two to finally say “hello” to him. My dream coming through was to play alongside him one day and, thankfully, that's happened.'