Aston Villa manager Dean Smith is hopeful that midfielder John McGinn will be fit for the clash with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night, reports the Express and Star.

The 25-year-old missed out on Villa's Second City derby clash with Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon, after the midfielder was withdrawn from the Scottish national team side in their Nations League campaign last week.

Ahead of Villa's crunch match Forest on Wednesday night, however, Smith said: "I’m hopeful John will be back for Wednesday,”

“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.”

McGinn has been a standout performer for the Villans since his arrival from St. Mirren in the summer - the box-to-box midfielder has scored two goals and assisted four times thus far this term.

It's a hugely important game for Smith's men - Forest sit one place above Villa with a three-point gap between the two teams, therefore the Villa Park faithful will be praying that he is fit and available.

The Verdict

This could be a huge boost ahead of a vitally important game for Villa on Wednesday night. McGinn has been absolutely brilliant since signing in the summer - he offers tenaciousness, grit and flair in midfield, and offers Villa something going both forward and back.