06.01.2015 18:34 h

Australian veteran Schwarzer joins Leicester

Mark Schwarzer
Mark Schwarzer

Veteran Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has joined Leicester City from Chelsea on an 18-month contract, the Premier League strugglers announced on Tuesday.

"Leicester City Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer on a contract to June 2016," the club said in a statement on their website.

Schwarzer, 42, arrives on a free transfer and is likely to go straight into the Leicester first team, with first-choice goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel currently sidelined by a broken foot.

Schwarzer joined Chelsea from Fulham in 2013. He made 12 appearances last season, but fell down the pecking order following Thibaut Courtois's return from Atletico Madrid and has not yet played in the current campaign.

Schwarzer spent the bulk of his career at Middlesbrough, where he played alongside current Leicester manager Nigel Pearson for two seasons.

He was capped 109 times by Australia -- a national record -- before retiring from international football in November 2013.

Leicester are currently bottom of the Premier League table, four points from safety, and host Aston Villa on Saturday.