Birmingham City FC

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• Manager:Alex McLeish

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Blues hopeful over Larsson

17 Apr 2008 - 11:40:25

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Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish is hopeful that Sebastian Larsson will shrug off a knee injury in time to face Aston Villa in Sunday's derby showdown.

The goalscoring midfielder limped out of last weekend's 1-1 draw with Everton at St Andrew's and subsequent scans showed he suffered minor medial ligament damage.

But McLeish is hoping the extra day's rest, as the derby doesn't take place until Sunday, will provide Larsson with enough time to prove his fitness.

The Sweden international has found the net five times for the relegation-plagued Blues this season.

"We're hoping that the extra day, with the game being on Sunday, will help him," McLeish told the Birmingham Mail.

"He's probably our main concern because he did tweak his medial ligament. I know from personal experience that sometimes after the game you feel okay and then two or three days later you're still sore with it.

"He's shown himself to be a quick healer in the past and it's one of those ones where, if it's restricting him, he won't play.

"If he's got a bit of pain, but it's not restricting him, he will be all right."

Meanwhile, midfielder Olivier Kapo is also set to feature against Villa after missing the last eight weeks with a hamstring injury.