Last Updated: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:14
Aston Villa are hoping that skipper Stiliyan Petrov will shake off an illness in time for the visit of Chelsea this weekend.
The Bulgarian international midfielder has missed training since Saturday's 3-0 drubbing against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium when he complained of feeling unwell and had a high temperature.
And assistant boss Peter Grant revealed that they are hopeful that he can resume training in the second half of this week in order to give him a good chance of lining up against the top-four chasing Blues at Villa Park.
Alex McLeish's options are already depleted with Alan Hutton and Charles N'Zogbia set to be sidelined due to respective calf and knee problems, while Darren Bent, Richard Dunne and Ciaran Clark are still missing due to ankle, collarbone and knee problems respectively.
James Collins and Emile Heskey are also carrying knocks, but should be okay for the weekend with Grant looking to have Petrov in contention.
"Stan Petrov's got a bit of a fever," Grant told the Birmingham Mail.
"He came off after the game with a high temperature on Saturday.
"He didn't feel that great during the game. The doc took his temperature on the way back up and it was very high."
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