Hull City will go into the new season with no fewer than eight players unavailable to boss Sergej Jakirovic because of injury, some of which date back to last season.
City‘s injury list remains a concern to the Croatian, with a flurry of problems picked up during pre-season. Their injury curse has even impacted players they wanted to sign this summer, with Tim Iroegbunam sustaining an injury just days before he was expected to move to the MKM Stadium.
Jakirovic will be hoping the situation improves, and once the season begins, the issues that blighted the Tigers last season can be put to bed.
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Here’s a look at those players that won’t be involved when Manchester United come to town this weekend….
Jack Butland
The goalkeeper remains sidelined after undergoing surgery on an arm injury he picked up in training before City’s penultimate friendly of the summer in Frankfurt. Butland isn’t expected back until the end of the year, potentially early in the New Year, depending on how his recovery progresses.
Charlie Hughes
City are still unsure about what happens next with their star defender, but he will miss the start of the season. After undergoing double hernia surgery in the summer, Hughes has not kicked a ball since the first week of pre-season training. The 23-year-old was due to go to Dublin for another assessment on the severity of the problem.
Elliot Matazo
The dynamic midfielder is cruelly set to miss the majority of the season again. After returning from his ACL injury against Charlton Athletic in the penultimate game of the Championship season, Matazo suffered another ACL injury. He’s undergone surgery on his knee and is on the long road back.
Darko Gyabi
After suffering a detached abductor during the pre-season trip to Slovenia, Gyabi is set for another three-month spell on the sidelines, which comes as a hammer blow to him.
The midfielder, who joined City from Leeds United last summer, had looked bright in pre-season, but will now face a race against time to be fit and back available before Christmas.
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Hidemasa Morita
The Japanese international arrived with a calf issue and has only just returned to training with it, hoping he could get his first minutes in a Tigers shirt against Stoke City in the Carabao Cup next Tuesday night.
Oscar Zambrano
Perhaps unsurprisingly, after a couple of impressive friendly displays following his move from Maribor, the Ecuadorian picked up a hamstring injury, which sidelined him for around a month. That was a couple of weeks ago, so now he’s on the road to recovery, though it’s likely he will be loaned out once City’s transfer work is complete.
Joe Gelhardt
The popular forward arrived with an ankle problem, and that’s set to see him out for a couple of weeks, but it’s expected he’ll be back in training towards the end of the month, or certainly at the beginning of September.
Matty Jacob
Like Gyabi, Jacob suffered injury in the first game of pre-season against Konyaspor, with him complaining of a hip issue, and that’s kept him out of proceedings since, as the club looks to try and resolve it.
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