Charlie Hughes’ hopes of being fit to start the new Premier League season are hanging in the balance, with it looking increasingly likely he won’t feature against Manchester United on August 22.
The talented Hull City defender has been struggling with a groin issue and is not expected back on the grass for at least the next two weeks.
Hughes underwent double hernia surgery earlier in the summer, and though he began pre-season training in Cottingham at the start of July, he hasn’t kicked a ball since.
After seeing a specialist in London before flying out to Slovenia, it was decided that Hughes would undergo light work in the gym, and that will continue, as it did during the Tigers’ camp abroad.
Boss Sergej Jakirovic admits the prognosis is not good, having hinted previously that Hughes could be sidelined for as long as 12 weeks, which would be devastating for him and the club ahead of the new campaign.
If the worst-case scenario comes to pass, Hughes could miss the next three months, which wouldn’t see him return to action until the back end of the year, so the Tigers will desperately hope that isn’t the case.
“Charlie Hughes is still out,” Jakirovic told Hull Live. “He’s working every day with the medical team, but not on the grass; he’s in the gym, and he will be in the next two weeks with the medical staff. Then we will see if he will go on the grass or not.
“It’s not optimistic,” he confessed. “Everything is possible, but we are going day by day. He feels fine, but he didn’t do anything on the pitch, so this is the reason why he feels fine.”
Jakirovic did say skipper Lewie Coyle is expected back in training ahead of Frankfurt, having missed training on Friday and the draw with Kasimpasa because of an ongoing ankle issue he’s been nursing.
Cody Drameh will be assessed after he was forced off at half-time on Saturday, while Matt Targett is expected back in training after returning to England on Thursday owing to a personal issue.
Darko Gyabi is set to see a specialist in London after he collected a problem in the win over Konyaspor, and Matty Jacob is facing a spell out with a hip issue he sustained in the same game.
The injury setbacks keep on coming for City, with Oscar Zambrano sidelined for at least the next two weeks, possibly more, with a hamstring strain. It’s not entirely surprising, perhaps, that the Ecuadorian has tweaked that muscle, given his lack of football over the past two years.
Finally, it’s hoped that new signing Hidemasa Morita is able ot get back on the grass towards the back end of the week, and potentially get some minutes in Frankfurt.
“With Lewie, we decided to skip this game because he has ankle soreness on his right side,” Jakirovic continued. “He had problems with the right ankle last season, and so we tried to spare him, and then I expect him in training on Wednesday. Morita, I expect he will be in a training session on the grass, but still individual and then we will see how it’s going. With Matt, it’s private things. He flew back home, and I hope everything will be fine and no injury problems, just some private things.”
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