Aston Villa sweat on Neil Taylor's fitness

The Wales international was taken off early in the second half of Tuesday’s shock 3-1 home defeat to QPR due to a groin problem.

Taylor is the only recognised senior left-back in Villa’s squad and boss Steve Bruce will keeping his fingers crossed he is able to feature at the Macron Stadium.

The 29-year-old had been kept out of the team by Alan Hutton for much of the campaign.

But with both the Scot and Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe also absent with hamstring injuries, Bruce faces being left with a serious headache for the most important game of the season to date.

Villa will head north desperate to bounce back after Tuesday’s defeat dented their hopes of winning automatic promotion.

Cardiff now hold a seven-point advantage in second place but Bruce has refused to give up hope of chasing down the Bluebirds.

The boss knows a victory at Bolton would at least exert a little pressure on Neil Warnock’s team, who play away at Derby on Sunday.

Tuesday’s defeat ended a run of three straight wins for Bruce’s men, who had thrashed long-time leaders Wolves last weekend.

The boss said: “We threw it wide open on Saturday but unfortunately we have damaged ourselves on Tuesday night.

“But there are 27 points to play for – that’s huge.

“It’s who can string a run together. Can we go on another run now when it’s most important?

“We have to recover and accept that you get beaten. It’s part and parcel of football.

“In football, there’s always the chance to put a defeat behind you, too.

“We will dust ourselves down and get ready for the weekend.”

Midfielder Glenn Whelan is also expected to miss Saturday’s game as he continues to recover from a calf injury sustained last month.