The exciting winger has been a major miss for City in the past 12 months
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic admits he wants to tread carefully with the return of Mohamed Belloumi as he nurses the Algerian ace back to fitness, but admits having him back is a big boost.
Belloumi returned to the squad on Saturday after an eight-game absence with a hamstring injury, but was not risked in a game where City battled back from a goal down to beat Portsmouth 3-2 and move fifth in the Championship.
The 23-year-old winger had only returned from nine months out with an ACL injury against Blackburn before going down with a hamstring issue in the win over Southampton 45 minutes into his first start since November 5, 2024.
City now have the full international break to work with Belloumi, who only returned to full training on Thursday ahead of that win over Pompey.
It’s expected that he will remain in training at Cottingham until Thursday, when all the players will be given a long weekend off before returning on Monday to prepare for the visit to QPR next Saturday afternoon, and was not risked in Tuesday’s Under-21 meeting with Barnsley at the MKM Stadium.
That game, a 2-0 home loss, saw Brandon Williams, Akin Famewo, Darko Gyabi and David Akintola all feature in a bid to keep them ticking over during the break.
“I’m very pleased (to have him back). I don’t want to risk him because maybe it’s too early,” the Croatian head coach told Hull Live. “It’s smart because we now have two weeks more, so he’ll be ready after the international break for sure. And for sure, it’s a big boost.”
Jakirovic is also keen to try and avoid a repeat of the issues that have plagued both Belloumi and fellow wing-wizard Liam Millar, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury of his own, which is set to keep him out until the end of this month.
“He’s good. He’s always good,” Jakirovic said of Belloumi. “If you ask him, I’m ready to play from the first minute, but I have learned my lessons through Liam Millar, and through Mo as well, so you have to be patient.”
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