Aston Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov is winning his battle to be fit for Sunday's Carling Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley.
The Bulgaria international has been laid low with a virus and missed Wednesday night's FA Cup fifth-round replay success over Crystal Palace at Villa Park.
But Petrov was given the all-clear to resume training on Thursday and is set to lead Villa's attempt to lift their first major trophy for 14 years.
The 30-year-old midfielder has been an inspirational figure in Villa's push for a domestic cup double and a Champions League spot via a top-four Barclays Premier League placing this season.
Petrov, who played for Celtic in the 2003 UEFA Cup final against Porto in Seville, said: "The virus is okay. It is better.
"I've been on antibiotics for the last three or four days and we are expecting every day for it to get better and better.
"I think it should be okay for Sunday."
Petrov admitted: "In my last game against Burnley at the weekend, I played with a little fever and then I felt really bad after the game.
"I had a lot of pain in my body and my chest was really tight and on Monday I was really bad so I started the antibiotics straight away.
"I've had my chest checked and it was clear so I can go to train."
Source: PA
Source: PA