Birmingham City could be able to call upon the services of Gary Gardner and Fran Villalba in tomorrow's clash with Queens Park Rangers with both players set to be available for selection.

However, Blues head coach Pep Clotet has confirmed that Dan Crowley will be out of action for 10 days after picking up a hamstring injury in the club's 3-2 victory over Reading last weekend.

Gardner, who missed Birmingham's meeting with the Royals due to an issue with his knee, will be aiming to play a part in his side's showdown with the Hoops on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Villalba has recovered from a hamstring injury which forced him to watch on from the sidelines at the Madejski Stadium.

Currently 13th in the Championship standings, the Blues could potentially close the gap between them and the play-off places to one point by beating QPR.

Given that the Hoops have won just one of their last eight league games, Birmingham will enter the clash at St Andrew's as slight favourites.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference about Crowley's setback (as cited by the Birmingham Mail), Clotet said: "Dan will probably be around 10 days so he will be back for Christmas, ready to help us in the busy but nice Christmas period."

Jake Clarke-Salter and Marc Roberts are both set to miss tomorrow's game as they continue to recover from their respective injury issues whilst Maikel Kieftenbeld remains a long-term absentee after suffering ligament damage earlier this year.

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The Verdict

Whilst Birmingham will want Crowley to make his return to action as soon as possible following his bright start to the 2019/20 campaign, they will be encouraged by the news that Villalba and Gardner could both feature against QPR.

Having picked up a confidence-boosting victory over Reading last Saturday, the Blues will be determined to build on this display by securing a positive result tomorrow.

Providing that they are able to seal all three points at St Andrew's, Birmingham could use the momentum gained from this particular performance to push on in the Championship over the coming weeks.