Birmingham City boss Chris Hughton is prepared give striker Nikola Zigic until the last minute to prove his fitness for Tuesday’s Championship clash with Portsmouth (Birmingham 4/6, Portsmouth 9/2, draw 13/5 Match Prices).

The Serbian hit-man was on fire in his last start, scoring all four goals as Blues beat Leeds United 4-1 at Elland Road.

However, the 31-year-old picked up a knee injury in that match and did not feature in the weekend’s goalless draw with Southampton.

Whether or not he plays against another south coast team on Tuesday is open to question, and Hughton has made it clear that he will not be rushed back into action and will only play if he is fully fit.

“We will give him the time he needs,” he said. “At the moment he’s doubtful so it’s important he gets the time he needs. He missed out on the weekend and it is best to give it more time to make sure he is 100 per cent.”

Adam Rooney or Wade Elliott will fill in for the former Valencia star if he does not recover in time as the Midlanders look to keep up their excellent recent form.

They have won four of their past five league games, scoring 14 goals in the process, and sit fifth in the Championship table with every chance of going on to claim an automatic promotion place this term (Birmingham 6/1 Championship Outright).

Pompey were not in action at the weekend due to a frozen pitch but have won two, lost two and drawn one of the past five encounters and go into the Birmingham clash on the back of a 3-0 win away at Peterborough.