The Tigers have consistently struggled to get players on the pitch this season
Oli McBurnie is one of the Hull City players who has missed a chunk of the season(Image: Trevor Wilkinson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sergej Jakirovic believes there’s no one specific reason why Hull City are suffering so much with injuries, and says it’s not to do with the club’s facilities.
The Tigers have been under siege all season with key players being unavailable for calf, hamstring, knee and other injuries, with the list of absentees remarkable.
Semi Ajayi, John Lundstram, Oli McBurnie, Liam Millar, Mo Belloumi, Cody Drameh, Enis Destan, Matt Crooks, Kasey Palmer, Darko Gyabi, Joe Gelhardt and Ryan Giles have all faced lengthy spells on the sidelines, while Eliot Matazo has suffered setbacks in his recovery from an ACL injury and will have been out for longer than 12 months by the time he returns.
Lundstram at least returned off the bench in the win at Southampton on Saturday, and Joe Gelhardt is coming back and could feature at Deepdale on Tuesday night, but there is now concern over Ajayi after he left Nigeria’s third-placed game victory over Egypt in the closing stages with a calf issue and will be assessed on his return to East Yorkshire.
At St Mary’s, Akin Famewo was taken off at half-time, with Kyle Joseph and Lewie Coyle forced off with issues in the second period, which will be a concern ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Preston North End.
Gyabi will require surgery on his groin injury and may not return again this season, while influential winger Belloumi’s hamstring issue may rule him out of the remainder of the campaign.
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Injuries have plagued teams across the Championship, with last Sunday’s FA Cup opponents missing a host of players, while Jakirovic himself said after the win at Middlesbrough that he was aware of eight players who had picked up injuries in the Boxing Day round of games alone.
Fans had raised concerns about the club’s processes, but Jakirovic has moved to allay those fears and says it’s a combination of the amount of games, intensity, and in some cases, lack of a full pre-season.
“I think it’s all mixed altogether,” the Croatian told Hull Live when asked what he made of so many issues. “They miss the pre-season, a lot of games, especially in December and now, but also in February, we will have a lot of games, especially with this Watford postponed match plus the FA Cup. This again will be a lot.
“It’s everything. Training sessions, pitches, everything, everything, it’s all together I think, and you cannot avoid this, no way. It’s not just us that have problems. For example, now with Valerien (Ismael) at Blackburn, they also have 10 or 11. How can you replace that? This is not possible.
“No, but all the injuries we have got have come in official games, so it’s not about pitches (or facilities). The biggest problem is when you get an injury, then you have therapy and then return to the pitch. This is the main problem because you don’t have time for normal training, micro cycles, and immediately you put a player back in, but this is not normal. This is not real, because you cannot be ready for 90 minutes or 30 minutes in a real game, in the official game.”
Getting Lundstram and Gelhardt back is a big step forward, with Ryan Giles pencilled in for a return at Ewood Park on January 31, but Jakirovic questioned the condition of those returning after long spells out, especially the former Rangers midfielder.
“This is the target. It will be better, and it has more options and very important players,” he said of the potential for brighter news this week with games against PNE and Swansea City looming large.
“In what condition is Lunny now? I’m asking myself. I don’t need to ask my doctor or fitness staff. He’s been out for almost three and a half months, so in what condition will he be? You need him, you must put him in because of too many games and try to increase minutes and pray to God he will not get another injury.”
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