The Tigers host Blackburn Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon
John Lundstram has played just 10 minutes of football since early October(Image: Zach Forster/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Hull City are not expecting John Lundstram to return to fitness in time to face Blackburn Rovers in this weekend’s FA Cup tie at the MKM Stadium.
Lundstram has been sidelined for the past month with a knee injury, which he picked up a couple of days after the win at Stoke City at the end of November.
The midfielder, who joined City on loan from Trabzonspor in the summer, has been limited to just 10 appearances this season, having sat out the early weeks of the season with a calf injury, and his latest setback will come as a big blow to him and boss Sergej Jakirovic.
Lundstram is training on the grass but is not yet back in full training, and it’s hoped he will return before the end of the month, along with Joe Gelhardt and Ryan Giles.
Jakirovic will have largely the same squad available that was due to face Watford last Sunday, before that game was called off less than 20 minutes before kick-off.
They’ll still be without Giles, Gelhardt, Lundstram, Mo Belloumi and Eliot Matazo, but Matty Jacob is available and won’t be cup-tied, despite playing for Reading in the first round of the FA Cup.
The Tigers boss says he will go as strong as he can, with his side not in action again until next Saturday when they play the first of a three-game week away in Southampton.
City haven’t won an FA Cup tie in six years, having gone out at the first attempt in each since getting to the fourth round when they were beaten by Chelsea in the doomed 2019/20 campaign.
“At first, I must say my players were angry because we didn’t play against Watford,” the Croatian told Hull Live. “They came in very, very angry because they’re already preparing in their minds that we will play the game.
“I got the impression that people think we will change something for the game. No, we will put out the best 11 we have at this moment. We will try to spare some positions because of a lot of minutes in the last period, and we will try to win against Blackburn because they beat us in the third round of the season; they killed us. They were much better than us, and now, we will try to gain some revenge.
“The FA Cup, for me, has a big tradition. Maybe people were disappointed we got another Championship team, maybe they wanted to get a Premier League team away from home, but this is what it is. We will try to give everything to win this game.”
On the subject of Watford and what has appeared to be a somewhat bizarre PR campaign from the Hornets to pin all the blame on the Tigers while playing up to their fans, Jakirovic says the ultimate decision was left with referee Anthony Backhouse.
“When I arrived at the stadium, the referee called me and asked me to go out to see the pitch, where there were some issues and problems,” the Croatian explained.
“The pitch was fine for playing, but around the pitch there was ice frozen, around 20-30 centimetres of it, and he (the referee) decided to wait for Javi Gracia to come, and then we would all speak together.
“Then we went again on the pitch together, and of course Javi said to me, ‘We want to play because we are travelling, because of the fans, which I completely understand, and I said, OK.’ I’m aware there are a lot of dangers for the players around the pitch, and so I said I agree, so it’s not our call, it’s not our decision.
“It’s a decision for the referee, together with the EFL. There were a lot of these conversations with the safety officer of the stadium. Then the referee said to me that I’m preparing to play the game normally with the team meetings. Then we went on the pitch for the warm-up, they called us all together with the safety officer and the EFL match delegate.
“The referee asked one more time, and both Javi and I repeated what we’d said previously, and then I said I have just one question: ‘Who will be responsible if someone gets injured?’ Because you cannot take corner kicks and throw-ins. The safety officer gave his opinion and said, ‘I’m responsible, and in my opinion, we should cancel this game because it’s not safe for the players.’
“It was not our call, the coaches, but it came down to the referee and the EFL to decide in the end. This was just my concern, but we were on the pitch to warm up normally, and we were prepared to play the game.”
Jakirovic did agree that the timing of the decision was poor, with fans inside the MKM Stadium not informed until 2:45pm, just 15 minutes before kick-off, and that it should have been made much earlier.
“Yes, I agree completely. The referee was very polite, very normal, a good guy. I have a really good connection with him, and he said to me, The pitch is fine. I said, ‘Yes, I see, but around the pitch, when you go off the pitch, you cannot stop.”
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.