Gardner has been suffering from homesickness after leaving Birmingham for Sunderland last summer.
Hodgson told Daily Mirror: “He is a very good player, so obviously someone like Craig Gardner becoming available will alert the Midlands clubs or clubs in the near vicinity.
“But it will be a question of price and if there are clubs who think they can afford him.
“I don’t think clubs will say, ‘he is no good, we don’t want him’.”
