John Carew could return from a knee injury when Aston Villa travel to White Hart Lane on Saturday to take on fellow top-four hopefuls Tottenham (Tottenham evens draw 9/4 Aston Villa 9/4 Premier League – match betting), according to manager Martin O’Neill.

The giant Norway striker (8/1 First and Last Goalscorer) has been unavailable for the last four games but has suffered no reaction since returning to training and could make the late clash in north London.

O’Neill said: “John has been training the last few days now and has had no reaction. Therefore, in terms of fitness, he would be in better condition than he was last week.”

O’Neill also revealed skipper Stiliyan Petrov is expected to feature against Harry Redknapp’s men despite an ongoing Achilles problem.

The former Celtic playmaker needed an injection at half-time during the Carling Cup semi-final second-leg against Blackburn but has had some extra days off to rest.

He added: “We are just going to have to monitor Stiliyan. We have games coming up and he is keen to play on. This week, with no midweek match, has given him a bit of a breather.”

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