The on-loan Barcelona player has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury during the FA Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday at St Andrew's on February 19. That setback dashed Hleb's hopes of facing his former club, Arsenal, in the Carling Cup final. But he has had an injection in his knee to ease the problem and Blues boss Alex McLeish is optimistic he can play some part against Rovers. He said: "Hleb is at a good level again in terms of his knee so he should make the squad this weekend. "He has been out for a few weeks but is at a pretty good stage fitness wise now. "He had an injection in his knee at the beginning of last week. He has been running well." Central defender Martin Jiranek is still recovering from a toe problem which required surgery. Winger David Bentley, who is on loan from Tottenham, is also ruled out with a groin injury.
