The Tigers have been rocked by some major injury troubles this season
Sergej Jakirovic admits Hull City are feeling the pinch without star striker Oli McBurnie, as the in-form frontman continues to be absent with a calf problem.
McBurnie watched from the stands again on Saturday as the Tigers were dealt a blow in the 91st minute when Charlton Athletic’s Luke Berry turned in to salvage a point.
City looked to be on their way to a fourth straight victory after Joe Gelhardt’s third goal in as many games at the start of the second half, but were punished for failing to kill the game off.
McBurnie, who has seven goals to his name after an electric start to the new season, was taken off in the second half of the win at Birmingham City last Saturday, and missed the midweek victory over Leicester City.
The Scotland international is expected to miss this Saturday’s trip to Norwich City, but there’s cautious optimism that he could be involved when City take on Derby County at Pride Park on Tuesday week, or the visit of Portsmouth to the MKM Stadium a few days later in the final game before the November international break.
Despite admitting the loss of McBurnie, along with John Lundstram and Mohamed Belloumi was being felt, Jakirovic was full of praise for Kyle Joseph, who has led the line superbly in the past couple of games and will likely need to again at Carrow Road.
“You cannot replace Oli McBurnie as a person or with his quality, but Kyle Joseph and even after him with Enis Destan, they gave everything,” Jakirovic said.
“Maybe in some situations it would be easier, but I cannot say anything to Kyle. This is what it is. We play without McBurnie, without Lundstram, without Belloumi.
“Some very good players, if they are all healthy, they will be in the first eleven, so this is something that we continue with like this and wait until they come back.”
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