City are facing yet more injury concerns
Lucas Gourna-Douath is suffering from a calf injury picked up in training
Lucas Gourna-Douath is suffering from a calf injury picked up in training (Image: Shutterstock Editorial)
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Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic admits he's concerned about an injury Lucas Gourna-Douath sustained in the build-up to Sunday's 2-2 draw with Everton.
The French midfielder complained of a calf injury after training and is set to go for an MRI scan in the next 48 hours to determine the severity of the problem, which could see him face a spell on the sidelines.
Mohamed-Ali Cho was also left out of the squad at the MKM Stadium, after complaining of a quad problem in training at the end of the week, though it's expected he will return to the fold against Fulham this weekend.
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Jakirovic's numbers were boosted for the draw with the Toffees, after Tim Iroegbunam, Brooke Norton-Cuffy and Morita were all passed fit to be involved. Morita and former Everton man Iroegbunam came off the bench in the second half as City fought back from 2-1 down to earn a creditable point against David Moyes' side and remain unbeaten at home in the Premier League.
Jens Hjerto-Dahl and Christos Mouzakitis's omissions were both down to selection decisions made by the manager, and they will be pushing for a place in the squad at Craven Cottage next weekend.
Charlie Hughes continues to struggle in his recovery from double hernia surgery in the summer, and will continue to be assessed over the coming days, with the club continuing to monitor his ongoing issues.
"He (Gourna-Douath) felt his calf (on Friday). He will go for an MRI, so we will see if there is something," Jakirovic told Hull Live, before going on to talk about Ali Cho. "Mohamed-Ali Cho, I hope he will be with us in London for the next game. He has a quad problem, but he also felt something after Friday's training session.
"He doesn't remember when he picked up this injury, but it's his left foot, and that's his better foot, so we'll see next week. The plan is for him to join us, but we will be very careful. Christos and Jens were not in the squad because we have other players."
Jakirovic was able to introduce Morita and former Everton star Tim Iroegbunam in the second period, along with Elliot Stroud, to provide fresh energy, though he was tempted to bring Crooks off at half-time, having found himself walking a tightrope after an early booking.
It was Morita's first appearance since playing the first half at Coventry back in late August, while Iroegbunam had been suffering with a knee injury he picked up in the second half at St James' Park. Gelhardt had also only played seven minutes on Tyneside, his first league minutes, so Jakirovic knew he would have to mix it up.
"That was the plan that Joffy, Crooksy and Slater would come off. Crooksy also got booked very early, which is very dangerous; it's tricky, especially with Crooksy. Tim also had one small injury, an MCL, after Newcastle, so we used these three weeks to get him fit and in the squad. We knew that they would play, I don't know, 60 minutes, this is the maximum. Now we have Tim, we have Morita, and now it's a problem.
"Tim and Morita have to catch the real rhythm and the real form. It's only like this because we don't have friendly games, and with the training sessions, we will try to improve them. It's about fitness, match fitness. We have to give them minutes, because Morita and Tim are very good players, we know that. It's about how much you can run. This is something we work on in the training sessions."
Given the amount of travelling so many players did during the three-week international break, Jakirovic knew he needed to be wary of fatigue, which is why Belloumi started on the bench.
"I think for every coach it's so difficult," the Croatian continued. "I watched Arsenal, Leeds, and when you watch the first half, you see they're out of rhythm, but they have quality, they can change some things, and then they will press you.
"We were finally all together on Friday and just had conversations with some tactical planning, but it's not easy. A lot of them played a lot of minutes, and that was the reason why Mo Belloumi started from the bench because he felt a little bit exhausted and tired."
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