Aston Villa have been boosted by the return of Emile Heskey ahead of the derby against West Brom.
Houllier looking forward to having striker back in his plans
Aston Villa have been boosted by the return to fitness of Emile Heskey ahead of Saturday's derby against West Brom.
Heskey has been out for a month after undergoing knee surgery, but will be involved at Villa Park at the weekend.
The striker has scored once in six Premier League appearances this season and has already made his mark in local derbies after netting the winner against Wolves in September.
Villa boss Gerard Houllier is looking forward to the return of the former England international as he tries to guide the club away from the bottom end of the table.
Missed
Houllier said: "Emile will definitely be involved on Saturday.
"It's down to other people to analyse the minutes we've played with Emile, the goals he's scored and made.
"But you would see the difference, he works hard for the team and we've missed him."
Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker has also resumed training after his knee problems although it is unlikely he will be available to face Albion.
Skipper Stiliyan Petrov (Achilles) is also expected to start training in a fortnight as Villa's lengthy injury list starts to ease.
Houllier said: "Petrov is ahead of schedule and in two weeks he should be back in training.
"Reo-Coker had his first full training session with us yesterday. I'd be surprised if he is in contention (for Saturday)."
