The England striker suffered the injury playing at NK Split in the Europa League two weeks ago, but played the return leg while wearing a protective cast and will do the same against Villa.
He's a bit handy: Bobby Zamora (left) is set to face Aston Villa
John Arne Riise is likely to make his Premier League debut for the Cottagers but his brother Bjorn Helge is out with a minor hamstring problem and Simon Davies (knee) is also unavailable.
Provisional squad: Schwarzer, Somogyi, Kelly, JA Riise, Hangeland, Baird, Senderos, Hughes, Salcido, Halliche, Sidwell, Kasami, Murphy, Gecov, Duff, Etuhu, Dempsey, Johnson, Zamora, Dembele.
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Source: Daily Mail
Source: Daily Mail