Gardner has had little luck with injuries since his £2.5million move to the KC Stadium from Tottenham in 2008 and made just eight appearances last season. The 28-year-old one-time England cap had more problems at the start of the current campaign and was also a doubt for Saturday's clash with Blackburn with a knee injury. But Gardner proved his fitness and came through unscathed to extend his run of consecutive games to eight. Brown said: "He gave me the nod on Saturday morning, as late as 11 o'clock. That was a bonus for me. Obviously if he hadn't have been fit that would have been three (outfield) changes and probably too much disruption at this important stage of the season. "Anthony threw his hat into the ring. When you play Blackburn you have got to be able to stand up to them in your own penalty box and I think Anthony Gardner did."
