Aston Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor facing battle to feature against Birmingham City

Agbonlahor has missed just one of the last 11 meetings between the rivals dating back to 2006 and has been Villa’s match-winner on no fewer than three occasions.

But a calf tear which has kept the 31-year-old sidelined for several weeks means he now stands only the slimmest chance of being involved at St Andrews.

Quizzed last week about Agbonlahor’s availability, boss Steve Bruce joked Villa’s longest-serving current player “would be ready” for the derby.

Yet it is understood the injury has left the veteran forward unable to train and at this stage he is expected to miss out.

Agbonlahor has made just four appearances this season and has not featured since Villa’s 0-0 draw with Brentford last month.

Yet his impressive record against Blues would tempt Bruce to include the former England international on the bench, were he available.

Agbonlahor made his first appearance of last season when the teams met at St Andrews 12 months ago. He then came off the bench to score his first goal in 14 months when Villa won 1-0 at Villa Park back in April.

Bruce said: "It’s frustrating for him. Unfortunately it seems to be a calf or muscle injury. He picks up quite a few which is a concern."

Jack Grealish, another of Villa’s homegrown stars, is also battling to prove his fitness ahead of Sunday.

The 22-year-old featured for the club’s under-23s at Reading last night as he continues his recovery from kidney damage.

Grealish came through on hour against Wolves under-23s last week but Bruce has vowed not to rush the playmaker back too soon.

“He played 60 minutes against Wolves and had been out for three months,” said the boss.

“The thing with Jack’s injury is he could not do anything at all. He could not raise his heart rate at all, he needed complete rest.

“He has had an awful injury, something you don’t hear of very often. We will see how he is.”