The Belgian cut a forlorn figure at The Valley on Saturday
Eliot Matazo shows his emotion at The Valley(Image: Sean Troup/Shutterstock)
Sergej Jakirovic has confirmed that Hull City midfielder Eliot Matazo has sustained a second cruciate knee ligament injury and is expected to undergo surgery on Tuesday.
Matazo suffered the devastating injury just minutes into his comeback from an ACL injury in his opposite knee at Charlton Athletic last Saturday.
Scan results showed the damage, and he will now go under the knife in London after Eliot Matazo sustained a second cruciate knee ligament injury in his final game of the regular season at a sold-out MKM Stadium against Norwich City on Saturday.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page
“Eliot Matazo is in London. I think he will have surgery next Tuesday or Wednesday,” the City boss told Hull Live. “Unfortunately, I saw in the public that there are a lot of questions because (they think) we rushed with him. This is not true, so we spoke with him all the time, with the medical staff.
“He trained with us for almost four weeks. Everything was OK. My decision was that it’s better to start in the game because if something happens like now, of course not ACL, but hamstring, quad, groin, we can replace or split the minutes with Regan Slater.
“That was the main issue. We have problems in midfield line because of Amir and Toby Collyer’s injuries.
“Darko has also come back after 12 weeks off the pitch, so if somebody doesn’t know, we have a lot of problems with midfield players.
“We always try to do the best, make the best decision for the team that can help the team. Unfortunately, it’s his right knee, it’s very unhappy for me, but of course, life goes on, and we will do everything to help Eliott come back even stronger.”
Naturally, given that was the Belgian’s first Championship appearance for 14 months since suffering the same injury in his other leg, he would be feeling low, but the Tigers boss said he’s now focussed on getting the operation done and starting his recovery.
“He’s good, he can’t wait to have surgery as soon as possible, but there is a little fluid in the knee, so the doctor wants to get rid of this fluid, and then he’s ready to go. His mum is there, his girlfriend is there in London, so he has support.
“I hope, surgery will go through and then go good, and then it’s the recovery and his therapy like always. It will be a minimum of eight months, so we will see. We’re looking forward.”
Elsewhere in City’s squad, Yu Hirakawa suffered an ankle knock in training on Monday but trained on Thursday and is set to be in the squad.
Charlie Hughes, Regan Slater and Kyle Joseph are pushing for returns to the starting line-up, with no fresh concerns aside from Matazo. The Tigers will still be without long-term absentees Amir Hadziahmetovic and Cody Drameh.
Jakirovic said a few weeks ago that he felt it would go to the final game, and his prediction has proved pretty much bang on the money, with his side battlign Wrexham and Derby County for that final play-off spot on what looks set to be a captivating final day of the season.
“That means that I know everything about the Championship,” the Croatian joked. “After 11 months, I know a lot, almost everything, so it’s good for the next season. I’m positive.
“Everything is like I expected, this is also showing how difficult this league is and also the mentality of the teams because no matter if you’re fighting for something or if it’s already season done, you have to deserve everything on the pitch. There is no time to relax. It’s the last game of the regular season, so we have to do everything to win this game on Saturday.”
City’s confidence of getting back in the top six were boosted on Sunday when Coventry City scored a late goal to beat sixth-placed Wrexham 3-1, to leave just one goal between their respective goal differences, something the head coach feels could be as important as Kyle Joseph’s goal-saving challenge at The Valley.
“It’s (confidence) good, Coventry and God gave us one more chance,” he continued. “Coventry’s third goal is very important, like Kyle Joseph when he defended the counter-attack (in stoppage time at Charlton), it’s also very important.
“Maybe it will be crucial in the end, we will see, but our first goal is to win the game, to play tactically wise, no rush because it’s a very long 90 minutes, and of course, it depends on other results, especially Wrexham against Middlesbrough.
“We will track everything, and depending on that, we will move our substitutions, tactically, maybe change something, but we will see.”
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.