Hull City face an anxious wait to find out if Charlie Hughes will be fit for the start of the new Premier League season next month.
Hughes underwent a double hernia operation after City‘s Wembley success in May, having played through the pain barrier throughout the season.
The defender was back in pre-season training earlier this month, but complained of some discomfort in his groin area and went to see a specialist in London last week.
He didn’t fly out to Slovenia with the rest of the City squad owing to his appointment in the capital, but joined up with the rest of the squad at the team hotel in Maribor 24 hours later.
Since then, the 22-year-old has been undergoing work with the medical staff and has not trained with the rest of the group, and watched Tuesday night’s win over Rizespor with the rest of the players who were unavailable.
Jakirovic admits he doesn’t know at this stage what the prognosis is, which is anything but ideal given how influential Hughes is, and how light on numbers his squad is at the moment.
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“Charlie Hughes had a problem after surgery in the groin and the pubic area, so we have to be very, very cautious,” the Croatian told Hull Live. “Yes (he trained in the first week), then he started to have problems.
“We have to proceed with care around Charlie, and right now, he’s having medical treatment with our doctors. He went to London and had one medical check with two different guys, so we have two different opinions. They’re completely opposite.
“One said that he can continue, but the other said it’s better to come back a little bit and take a step back. It’s a very sensitive and tender area for him, and now he’s in treatment, so we will see what happens. It could be two, four, six, eight or 12 weeks; you never know.”
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