Hull City have been handed a major blow in their pursuit of promotion, with it confirmed that star striker Abel Hernández is out for six months.

The 27-year-old rupturing his achilles in the 3-2 defeat to Wolves earlier in the week, handing Hull a huge blow as they look to seal an immediate return to the Premier League this season.

Wish him all the best

The club-record signing has been crucial for The Tigers in the second-tier of English football before, as the Uruguayan managed to notch 20 goals the last time they were in the Championship. His goals proved crucial in their promotion via the play-offs.

Hernández looked to be recreating that form once again early into the new season having scored three goals already ahead of the clash with Wolves, but concerns were high when he went down towards the end of the game at the KCOM Stadium.

A scan has shown the extent of the damage which will require surgery, and manager Lenoid Slutsky noted how much of a "big blow" Hernández's absence will be.

"We have lost Abel for six months," Slutsky confirmed to the club's official website."Which is very, very disappointing. For me, Abel is one of the best forwards in the Championship and is a huge player for us."

“It is also a big blow for Abel himself because he had made a very good start to the season,"
the Russian said. "And was playing very well for the team."

"We wish him all the very best in his recovery,"
Slutsky added. "And look forward to seeing him back out on the pitch as soon as possible.”

Have to bounce back

It had been a good start to the season for Slutsky's men with a draw and resounding wins over Aston Villa and Burton Albion respectively, but they were humbled by Wolves - who will certainly be one of Hull's promotion rivals this season.

It doesn't look to be getting any easier for The Tigers as they travel to Loftus Road to take on Queens Park Rangers, and midfielder David Meyler stated that bouncing back "has to be the plan."

Meyler told the club's official website: “From my experience in the Championship, you have to move on quickly after a defeat."

“Yes it was disappointing to suffer out first defeat of the season," the Northern Ireland international revealed. "But no-one here is panicking whatsoever. There were plenty of positives for us to take from the way we performed on Tuesday night."

He added: "Performances like the one we produced against Wolves - especially in the second half - will stand us in good stead. If we can maintain the level of performance we showed in mid-week then we’ll be right up there challenging at the top."

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.