Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill is hopeful top scorer John Carew will be fit for Saturday's Premier League clash with Bolton at Villa Park.Norwegian striker Carew, who has nine top-flight goals to his name this season, was forced off with a groin strain in the 4-0 loss at Manchester United last weekend.

But the damage appears to be minimal, and manager Martin O'Neill told the club's official website: "I'm very optimistic about it because he came in on Sunday and by Monday he felt a million times better. So hopefully he'll be available.

"He wants to play and he understands that sometimes you just get on with it. He's prepared to do that and feels very positive about playing on Saturday.

"John is a very important player for us and we're trying to use his experience to help the younger players alongside him - Gabby (Agbonlahor), Ashley Young and Shaun Maloney."

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