The Tigers have received mixed news as they return to action this weekend
Head coach Sergej Jakirovic admits losing John Lundstram to injury is another cruel blow to his Hull City side as they go in search of a second consecutive win for the first time in more than a year, though he says having Liam Millar back after Canada duty is huge.
Lundstram will be out until next month after sustaining a calf injury in the 1-0 win over Sheffield United before the international break, meaning the wait will go on for his 500th career appearance.
The 31-year-old has been an ever-present for City so far this season, but he will not feature at Birmingham City on Saturday, and is expected to sit out games against Leicester City, Charlton Athletic, Norwich City, Derby County and Portsmouth.
City hope Lundstram will return sooner and be available for the games at the latter end of the six-game block, but Jakirovic is urging caution.
“It’s not great,” Jakirovic confessed. “We think he will be out for around one month with his calf, and it’s not good, but OK, this is the Championship. He is now in therapy and everything is OK. We’re waiting day by day, week by week.
“The prediction is a maximum of six weeks, so now it’s 1.5 with 3.5 weeks left to go. This is the maximum, so we will see how his recovery goes with his body. Every time, it’s always individual. When it happened to (Lewie) Coyley (hamstring injury) in Istanbul, they told me six weeks, and it was exactly 6 weeks.”
Despite the blow of losing such an influential figure, Jakirovic can call upon fit-again Matt Crooks, Darko Gyabi, Regan Slater and Amir Hadziahmetovic in the middle of the park, while Kasey Palmer could return.
The Tigers boss has also received positive news further up the pitch, with Joel Ndala available after overcoming a foot problem, and Millar building up his minutes playing for Canada during the international window as he continues his comeback from an ACL injury.
“Now we have bodies,” he continued. “Matt Crooks is back as well. Jofo (Joe Gelhardt) is there. When we are all healthy, we have on the right (David) Akintola, (Mo) Belloumi and on the left, Joel Ndala and Liam Millar. We have six or seven midfield players together with Lunny (Lundstram), so we have a lot of options, and this is good.
“Joel (Ndala) has been back in training and will be in the squad for this game. Mo could be back for Portsmouth or the game before, maybe. He will have one more scan, and then we will see. I’m listening to the medical staff, so this is normal.”
Like Gyabi, Brandon Williams and Akin Famewo, Cody Drameh played last Tuesday at Coventry City in the Under-21s’ dramatic comeback but was forced off late on with a hip injury, though Jakirovic says there is no problem with the full-back.
“Cody is OK,” he added. “Now it’s Coyle for the first option, but in the last 10 games, Cody has started seven. If I’m a player, I will be very happy about that because you are almost playing in 70, 75 per cent of games. I’m counting on him because every player is very important, and they will all play.”
The City head coach revealed how pleased he was for John Egan, who returned to Republic of Ireland duty after a two-year absence, even though his arrival on the pitch coincided with a late Ruben Neves winner for Portugal, something the jovial Jakirovic found amusing.
“I’m very happy because of John. He worked very, very hard. He scored a goal at Swansea away, so I’m very happy for him. I think they substituted him on against Portugal, and then they conceded the goal. We laughed with the boys,” the Croatian joked.
“I’m very proud of every other player who is in the national team because it’s not easy to be a national team player, so this is a big asset for the club.”
Jakirovic also highlighted how pleased he was that both Liam Millar and Semi Ajayi got meaningful pitch time for Canada and Nigeria, respectively. Ajayi played the whole 90 minutes earlier this week, while Millar got two appearances off the bench under his belt as he eyes a first Tigers start in almost 12 months.
“Yes, I’m worried, but I spoke with Liam before he went there, and we sent one email for the physios in Canada, so they were aware of everything,” he said of Millar’s international duty. “I’m happy because he played. Every minute for him is very important, especially after 11 months out. Liam is completely different from Mo (Belloumi). For example, Liam is ready all the time when I’m asking for something. It’s huge to have him in our group because he’s a very good player.
“It’s good that he (Ajayi) played, and he played a good game. We watched the game. It’s a different style of English football (compared to international football). Nigeria has a very good national team, a lot of very good players on a high level, and I’m happier because of that. I think he landed this morning (Thursday) in London, and then he will come to our training, so we will see how he feels.
“Everything is good. They are a very nice group, a very hardworking group, and I’m satisfied. This is the reason why I’m always speaking about health. I need to choose the right 11 and have a plan B. This is always like this, but now we have a few more options, and this is good.”
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