Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill says he is confident Gabby Agbonlahor will return against Stoke after struggling with a virus.
The striker was forced to sit out the FA Cup quarter-final victory over Reading after being struck down by the bug on the morning of the game but O'Neill says he will recover in time for weekend.
It now leaves O'Neill with a huge dilemma as he will struggle to drop John Carew who stepped in and scored a hat-trick against the Royals in Agbonlahor's absence.
"He was pretty ill on Sunday," O'Neill revealed. "That was a real disappointment but fate sometimes is in other people's hands. As it turns out it was John Carew's feet.
"Gabby missed training again on Monday but we are hoping it is just one of those 48 to 72 hour viruses."