The Tigers returned to East Yorkshire with three precious points in their pocket
Eliot Matazo was in City’s squad against Millwall after more than 12 months out(Image: Tony King/Getty Images)
Hull City will assess Eliot Matazo after the midfielder withdrew from the warm-up ahead of the Under-21s’ 2-2 draw with Sheffield United on Tuesday.
Matazo was named in the starting line-up but withdrew with some discomfort in his quadricep as a precaution, and therefore didn’t take part in the game.
City were loath to take any risks with the Belgian ace, more than 12 months on from the ACL injury he sustained in Cardiff last February.
He made his return to action last Tuesday at Peterborough United’s training ground, playing 30 minutes for Conor Sellars’ side before being named on the bench for the first team’s game against Millwall last Saturday, but didn’t get on.
The plan was for him to play an hour on Tuesday, with a view to potentially being involved at West Brom on Saturday, but that progress looks to have been checked now.
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Meanwhile, Lewie Coyle did not play in the 2-1 win at Wrexham on Tuesday night, with Sergej Jakirovic keen to avoid taking any unnecessary risks with the skipper.
Coyle played through the pain barrier against Millwall, having been suffering with an ankle injury sustained at Ipswich, but City kept him off the Racecourse pitch with a view to him being fit to start at West Brom on Saturday.
In not playing, Coyle also got through the yellow card cut-off. Sitting on nine bookings, had he played and been cautioned at Wrexham, he would have missed the next two games, but now the threshold rises to 15.
“I decided to spare Lewie because his ankle was a little bit stiff in the last two days. I think that was a good decision, of course, together with Lewie, and now he will be available for Saturday.”
On Matazo, Jakirovic added, “He felt his quad in the warm-up. Our decision was that it’s better not to play, and then after the medical check tomorrow (Wednesday), we will see if he’s damaged or just his reaction.”
Jakirovic also explained why he dropped Kyle Joseph to the bench, despite the ex-Blackpool forward impressing on Saturday, instead opting to start Koumas, who netted what proved to be the winner.
“Oli (McBurnie) had problems on Monday and Tuesday morning. He was ill. We decided to start with Oli because Oli always wants to play, and then we will put Kyle on because we don’t have any other options,” he continued. “I was very satisfied with Kyle in the last game. Every player is very important, and we will continue like this.”
Amir Hadziahmetovic was taken off in the second half, but that was due to cramp and not the ankle issue he’s been nursing recently.
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