"Richard's wife has had a baby, and we send our congratulations to them," manager Mark Hughes has said.
"I think they thought the baby would have come along a bit sooner, but it's important that he's with his wife and family now.
"We're going to pick a team to win the game, but given that we have already qualified it is important that we take into account the period that we are going into.
"It's a big demand of players, a lot of our shining lights have played virtually all the games this season, so this could be a chance to give a few of them a bit of a rest and respite, then they are fit and well for the weekend."