scorer Tammy Abraham is set to hand Aston Villa boss Dean Smith a fitness boost ahead of the visit of Rovers.

The Chelsea loanee, who has 21 goals this season, didn’t meet up with the England Under-21s squad during the international break after coming off in Villa’s win over Middlesbrough last time out.

But Smith says the rest has put the 21-year-old in contention to feature against Rovers at Villa Park today.

“Tammy wasn’t quite right when he joined up with the England camp.

“But we’re thankful to them that they’ve actually looked after him and given him some modified treatment on his groin as well as the “fatigue injury on his calf which cramped up in the last game.

“He got some good rest period and will be fighting fit for the game.”

Villa have racked up four consecutive wins, helped by the return to fitness of playmaker Jack Grealish, to move in to the top six with eight games remaining.

Axel Tuanzebe and Henri Lansbury have also handed Smith's men a boost for the run-in as they look to secure a play-off spot.

The boss added: "We're looking forward to the run-in. We've given ourselves an opportunity with performances and results of late. We need to continue that now."

While Villa, top scorers at home in the division, have been on an upward curve, seven defeats in the last nine matches has seen Rovers slip to 16th.

They have tinkered with the formation, and personnel, in a bid to stem the tide, but even despite the current run, Smith isn't taking anything for granted.

"It’s a tough test,," he said of Rovers. 

"They have good players within their team.

"They started the season really well and probably dropped a few places over the last month.

"I watched them against Sheffield Wednesday and they’ll be disappointed they conceded from a few set-pieces.

"But they certainly have an attacking threat with Danny Graham, Bradley Dack and others.

"They have alternated with systems. But we have to concentrate on ourselves and look to replicate our recent home performances."