Dean Smith hopeful Aston Villa's 'Braveheart' John McGinn will be fit for Nottingham Forest

The all-action midfielder missed Sunday’s Second City derby win with a calf strain sustained while on international duty with Scotland.

Smith revealed McGinn had been desperate to play against Blues and compared the 25-year-old’s battling spirit to that of legendary Scottish knight William Wallace.

And though the boss eventually decided not to risk McGinn in the derby, he will again give him every chance to prove his fitness for the visit of Forest.

“I’m hopeful John will be back for Wednesday,” said Smith. “He’s got a little bit of William Wallace about him and wanted to play but I couldn’t risk losing him and missing another couple of games.”

Albert Adomah and Henri Lansbury are both doubts after picking up knocks against Blues, while James Bree and Mile Jedinak missed the game with muscle strains.

The clash with Forest, who sit a place and three points above Villa in the table, begins a run of games against fellow promotion hopefuls. Trips to Middlesbrough and Albion are also on the horizon.

“Before we played Derby, people were saying this was a big period. We’ve won the next two games,” said Smith

“I see these games as opportunities and the players are starting to see them as opportunities also.

“We’ve played some good football at times, we look a threat. We will score goals. We just need to tidy up a bit at the back.”