Chris Wood's early return from World Cup duty has given Leicester City an unexpected bonus in their push for promotion.
City play Millwall tomorrow night and striker Wood is now set to be thrust straight into the starting line-up against his former club.
City boss Nigel Pearson admitted Wood had been a major doubt for the game at the King Power Stadium due to his involvement with New Zealand.
He was due to play for the All Whites in a World Cup qualifier in the Solomon Islands on Tuesday night, and Pearson said he would have struggled to be ready to face the Lions after a 36-hour return journey.
However, New Zealand booked their place in the play-offs for Brazil after their victory against New Caledonia, in Dunedin, on Friday night, and Wood was released to return ahead of schedule, arriving back at City on Monday.
Pearson said it was vital that Wood recovers from his trip and is firing on all cylinders ahead of the visit of the Lions, for whom the striker scored 11 goals in 19 league appearances while on loan at the Den earlier in the season.
"He is a player who will have a massive influence for us here on in," said Pearson.
"He would probably have got back on the day of the game had he played on Tuesday night.
"Just the logistics of returning from that second game would have been problematic. He may not have played tomorrow. But, hopefully, by tomorrow he will have recovered from his travels.
"He has been a key player for us since he joined the club in January. He has set very high standards and, sometimes, when you set those standards, then maybe that puts added pressure on a striker when he is not scoring goals.
"He has had an exceptional start to his City career. I know he can help us get to where we want to be.
"He plays a part, along with many other players at this club, and they all have a responsibility to be prepared for every game.
"He is a focused young man, he is ambitious and I know that he, and the rest of the players, will give everything they have got."
Matty James and Ritchie De Laet have recovered from injuries during the international break, while Anthony Knockaert is also back after a family bereavement.
"Anthony is fine, Ritchie De Laet is fine and so is Matty James," said Pearson. "We go into this run of games with a squad that is more or less at full-strength.
"Matty is a young player who has done exceptionally well for us this season and he is looking forward to being involved again.
"I believe we have a strong squad of players and they are the right sort of people as well. That is going to make the difference."
