The Tigers have been hit by injury trouble all season and it shows no sign of easing
Regan Slater is facing a spell out with an ankle injury(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Hull City have been hit by another cruel injury blow with the news that influential midfielder Regan Slater could miss the remainder of the Championship season.
Slater has been a pivotal figure for City this season and has played in all 39 league games under Sergej Jakirovic’s revolution, but has been nursing an ankle problem for some time.
That issue was exacerbated on Saturday, when he took a heavy kick on his left ankle after winning a thumping challenge and was forced off after just half an hour of City’s 3-1 win over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
It’s understood Slater is set to miss around six weeks, which takes him up to the beginning of May. City only have seven games left of the regular season, with the final day showdown against Norwich City on May 2 a possible return date, but that’s too far away to make a firm assessment yet.
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City will hope that in those remaining games, they can secure a top-six finish, which would mean Slater could return to the fold for the play-offs later in May.
Despite starting the season well down the pecking order, Slater has emerged as one of Jakirovic’s top performers this season, and would surely be in the running for the club’s Player of the Season.
Fortunately for the Tigers, who return to action after the international break against Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium on Good Friday, April 3, they have options in the middle of the park to deal with Slater’s untimely absence.
John Lundstram is back after an injury-hit campaign and replaced Slater against the Owls, while Amir Hadziahmetovic has been benched in the past two games, and his absence has been felt. Toby Collyer is building up his fitness, having had his own struggles since arriving from Manchester United in January.
Darko Gyabi is making encouraging progress in his return from a groin injury and could be involved over the Easter weekend, while Matt Crooks has operated in the centre of the park against West Brom and Wednesday, but there’s little doubt that losing in-form Slater is another devastating blow.
There was some hope Eliot Matazo would be able to return from his knee ligament injury; however, in keeping with the theme of the season, he suffered another setback and isn’t expected to return until the end of April. The Belgian won’t have played a first-team game since February 2025, so he will be a long way short of match fitness, should he be available.
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