Birmingham's Hleb given all-clear

Birmingham playmaker Alexander Hleb has been declared fit for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League derby at Aston Villa.

The on-loan Barcelona player suffered a knee injury during last Saturday’s 2-0 home success over Blackpool but is named in Alex McLeish’s squad.

Midfielder Michel has shaken off a kick on the shin suffered against Brentford in the midweek Carling Cup tie but Cameron Jerome (ankle), Jean Beausejour (knee) and James McFadden (knee) are long-term absentees.

Provisional squad: Foster, Carr, Dann, Johnson, Ridgewell, Larsson, Ferguson, Fahey, Gardner, Hleb, Zigic, Taylor, Parnaby, Bowyer, Michel, Phillips, Derbyshire, O’Connor, Murphy, Jiranek.