The striker has missed the last two games with a foot injury he suffered at Liverpool over two weeks ago.

He tumbled over the advertising boards in the 2-2 draw at Anfield and has sat out the win over Albion and Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Everton.

But Lambert confirmed the 27-year-old is making good progress in his recovery.

He said: "It doesn't look too bad actually. He's been doing a lot better than he was. He's starting to put his weight on it now which is encouraging."

Lambert will assess Ron Vlaar though after the skipper limped off in the second half at Goodison Park with a tight hamstring.

He said: "We'll have a look at him and see how he is. We just couldn't risk him."

Defeat came after Lambert failed to snatch Wes Hoolahan from Norwich before Friday's transfer deadline.

The boss had three bids rejected by the Canaries but insisted Villa must move on from the saga.

"It closed on Friday and we're into another month. We can't do anything about it now. You've just got to keep going," he said.

"I never really got caught up in the media hype of it all. If you can do something you try to do it. I brought in Ryan (Bertrand) and Grant (Holt) and I thought they've done well for us. Now we have to go again."