Stern John could tonight make his first start since the opening day of the season having impressed on his return at the weekend.

The Crystal Palace striker, who has been sidelined with a dislocated elbow, played in the final 15 minutes of the draw with Cardiff and twice came close to grabbing the winner.

Ahead of tonight's match at Leicester, Palace assistant manager Mick Jones said: "He looked very good in the short time he had on the pitch. He looked sharp, which was good news. To be fair I thought he might have scored with the header. And if he had a bit more match time in recent weeks I think he would have. His timing was just a bit off."

The Cardiff game also saw Freddie Sears (above) return from an ankle injury. Sears, who is on loan from West Ham, came on as substitute and could start tonight.

It is a timely boost for manager Neil Warnock who saw Victor Moses and Darren Ambrose hobble out of the Cardiff game with injury.