Toby Collyer starred for Hull City on Monday night against Coventry City
Victor Torp of Coventry City is challenged by Toby Collyer of Hull City(Image: Getty Images)
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic admits there is some doubt about whether Toby Collyer is ready to start two games in a week.
Collyer was City’s star man on Monday night as the midfielder, on loan from Manchester United, caught the eye on his first start for the Tigers.
The 22-year-old had seen a combined total of 30 minutes in a black and amber shirt prior to Monday night, with injuries and a lack of fitness preventing him from being given more opportunities by the head coach.
He more than took his chance on Monday night, though, as City held league leaders Coventry City to a goalless draw and as a result, he would ordinarily be a shoo-in to start at Bramall Lane on Saturday.
However, with Collyer’s game time being limited, Jakirovic is keen to continue managing his load and that could result in a midfield change.
“The last game he started was November, so that’s great for him and for us,” the head coach told the press. “Now we need to be very careful with him because now is the game on Saturday and we will see if he will start the game or come on after. This is my decision.
“He’s had almost two days in recovery and today [Thursday] he trained normally so everything is good.”
Jakirovic added: “I was thinking he would be available for 45 or 50 minutes and then I looked on the pitch and he felt nice there. After 65-70 minutes he started to feel tiredness and cramps in the calves.
“That’s the reason why we changed because he looked good on the pitch. This is normal because when he joined us he was 14 weeks off the pitch at West Brom and before this game, I made the decision that it was time to get him started.
“Now we will see, he is there, he is with us and he showed very good performance the other night, it’s very good for the team and for Toby.”