The 24-year-old still hopes to be involved before the campaign ends
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
15:11, 14 Apr 2026
Eliot Matazo has taken another big step in his comeback from ACL surgery
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Eliot Matazo has taken another big step in his comeback from ACL surgery(Image: Hull City AFC)
Eliot Matazo made his latest comeback from injury in a bid to feature before the end of the season as he played an hour for Hull City's Under-21s.
Conor Sellars' side were well beaten by Bournemouth at the Tigers' Bishop Burton academy on Tuesday afternoon, going down to a 4-0 loss to the Premier League outfit - the third time this season they've conceded four against the Cherries.
Matazo, who had been sidelined with a quad issue which ruled him out of a recent Under-21s game with Sheffield United in the warm-up, played an hour in the East Yorkshire sunshine for the first time in a month.
Matty Jacob and Darko Gyabi were also in the team and, like Matazo, were withdrawn on the hour mark as they work their way back to fitness following knee and groin injuries, respectively.
Both Jacob and Gyabi were on the bench at Bramall Lane on Saturday, but neither got on the pitch as City were beaten 2-1 in dramatic fashion.
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Their respective returns are timely, with news that Cody Drameh is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season, and, in the case of Gyabi, he could be a potential replacement for John Lundstram, who will miss Saturday's game against Birmingham City through suspension.
Matazo hasn't played a first-team game since suffering an ACL injury at Cardiff City in late February 2025. He made his return in an Under-21s game at Peterborough United, playing 45 minutes before appearing on the bench in the Championship for the MKM Stadium meeting with Millwall early last month, and then withdrawing from the warm-up against the Blades with a quad issue.
City's plan remains to get the Belgian ace fit for the start of the new season in August, but he could yet feature in Sergej Jakirovic's squad before the campaign ends, if he can prove his fitness.
Despite hitting the bar inside a minute, City were three down at the break, courtesy of goals from Michael Dacosta Gonzalez, Remy Rees-Dottin and Charlie Stevens. Stevens then made it 4-0 just before the hour to wrap up the points.
The young Tigers sit 13th in the table and are next in action away at Cardiff City next Monday afternoon in their final outing of the campaign.
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