MIDFIELDER Paul Weller is hoping to overcome his injury nightmare to help the Clarets push for the play-offs.

Weller, who was on the bench at Fulham on Sunday, has stepped up his training - although he's hoping to avoid a cup jinx along the way.

The player has spent a decade with Burnley - and has never known the club enjoy such cup success.

But he may be tempted to take a back seat from the Worthington Cup and FA Cup in future after being jinxed by both competitions this season.

The midfielder sustained a groin injury in Burnley's Worthington Cup first round win against Blackpool, while the last time he started a game was at Grimsby Town in the third round of the FA Cup.

He suffered a torn calf muscle, which should have taken just two weeks to heal. But a recurrence of the injury in training has kept him sidelined since that afternoon at Blundell Park.

"I should probably just stick to league games with the run I've had in the cup," he said.

"I did a little bit of training with the first team for the first time on Saturday, and I was on the bench on Sunday, which was a nice feeling. But a lot of work needs to be done on my fitness before I'm back to the level of the rest of the lads.

"The five weeks I've been missing have really taken it out of me. It doesn't take long to lose your fitness but it takes time and hard work to get it back."

Weller has been pounding the hills at Gawthorpe and Townley, as well as working hard in the gym. But he admitted that picking up another injury, after missing virtually all of Burnley's pre-season with a twisted ankle, is always at the back of his mind.

"You don't necessarily worry about the injury you're recovering from, I'm more worried about the other niggles I might pick up in training because there are other muscles that haven't been used for a long time as well," he explained.

"So this week's going to be a hard week as I try to get fit for the weekend, but I feel like I'm a long way off at the moment.

"The running's easy, it's the match fitness that you need. A reserve game would have been lovely but we haven't got one this week so the timing is not the best for me.

"But the first team games are coming thick and fast at the moment, and that's another reason to get fit as quickly as possible because you never know when you'll be needed."

And the sooner Weller can get back on the pitch, the better, since he admits he isn't the best spectator.

"I hate watching football. I just end up sitting there kicking the chair," he said. "But the lads have done brilliantly and they are confident going into the replay against Fulham next week.

"We're always confident when we're at home, but we're not overawed by the big clubs teams. We gave Manchester United a good run for their money.

"In all the years I've been here the club's never had a good run in the cups, so this season's been great for team, the management, the Board and the supporters."

But Weller revealed the cups weren't at the forefront of the team's mind, particularly at the start of the season when they lost their first four games.

"We were just focused on the league after finishing seventh in the last two years, we knew we could be up there again," he said.

"We didn't get a good start but we turned that around and it's turning out to be a good season."