Hull City's injury pile is growing more by the week after the news that strikers Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez are set to join the long list of players on the sidelines. The Tigers have no fewer than nine first team players out injured and with the business end of the season looming, manager Steve Bruce will be hoping he can get some of his key players back soon.
Jelavic and Hernandez were both subbed off at the weekend in their 1-0 defeat to West Brom in the irst half, with Jelavic suffering a knee injury and Hernandez suffering a tear in his adductor muscle. This meant that midfield duo Robbie Brady and Tom Ince had to play up front at The Hawthorns, where Hull went down to a Saido Berahino goal.
Hernandez, Hull's record signing for £10million from Palermo in the summer, is set to miss around four to six weeks and hasn't had much joy in a Hull shirt, with only a couple of goals and a handful of appearances for the East Yorkshire club. Jelavic, signed last January from Everton is Hull's top scorer with six goals, and scans showed his injury wasn't as bad as first feared, and he'll now miss three to six weeks having only just recovered from illness to play on Saturday.
Other injuries include Gaston Ramirez, who's making good progress after being ruled out for six weeks with a groin problem and Sone Aluko, who injured his calf. Both players have an outside chance of being fit for Sunday's trip to West Ham.
Mohamed Diame is still on the comeback from his knee injury sustained in the 1-1 draw with Everton last month, it's undecided how much longer he'll be on the sidelines. Although his knee is now out of a brace and means he can step up his rehabilitation. Young Scot Andy Robertson is set o return at the end of January after an ankle injury.
Robert Snodgrass has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Hull, after signing from Norwich in the summer, the Scot got injured in the opening day win at QPR with a dislocated kneecap, and isn't set to return until the start of next season. Brian Lenihan, an Irish youth player signed from Cork in the summer was sent back from his loan spell with Blackpool is set to be back in around four weeks. Finally Liam Rosenior is in the early phase of a twelve week recovery period after picking up a hamstring injury in the New Year's Day win over Everton.
Steve Bruce's team need to start picking up results, and with so many first team players out, it could be hard for The Tigers, who currently sit in the relegation zone after Saturday's defeat.