The midfielder missed out against Newcastle United last Saturday due to sickness, and Hodgson has now revealed that the Serbian skipper is still suffering from the effects of that illness.
The manager said: "He's trained all week but unfortunately yesterday he had a bit of a setback, he suffered quite badly from this virus he picked up after the break and last week before the Newcastle game there was no chance of him being fit for that game.
"We were hoping with his training this week he would be fully fit for this game and then yesterday he came in and missed training with a little recurrence, if you like, of the virus.
"We weren't sure until this morning whether he'd be fit to take any part in the game at all. He was declared fit enough to play some part but by that time, of course, I'd selected the team and decided he would start the game from the bench, which is probably the right thing. Those two weeks have debilitated him in some way so I think he needs next week's training as well to get back to full fitness."