A Tom Huddlestone Hull City return? I wouldn't rule it out says midfielder as Tigers suffer George Honeyman blow

But fellow midfielder George Honeyman has been ruled out for the first six or seven games of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.

His team-mates, supporters and coach Grant McCann all voted Honeyman their player of the year in the club's end-of-season awards but the 26-year-old needed painkilling injections to complete the campaign.

Now the Tigers have acted.

“George came back raring to go in pre-season but, unfortunately, his ankle was not right,” McCann told the club’s website.

“We managed to get George an operation but he’ll probably miss the first six or seven games.

“It’s not great news because he’s such an influential player, but it was important we got the operation done so he didn’t have a relapse during the season.”

Honeyman and Huddlestone are very different players, one a player who likes to break into the box, the other a deep-lying playmaker with four England caps, but the possibility of the latter returning to the club is still good news.

Huddlestone has been training with his old club after being released by Derby County in the summer, and expected to feature in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Scunthorpe United.

If he does, it will be the 34-year-old's first appearance for the Tigers since leaving for Derby in 2017 after 162 competitive appearances for the East Yorkshire club, including in the FA Cup final at the end of his first season.

Huddlestone is not discounting the possibility of a permanent return.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out to be honest,” said the former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder.

“During the summer I was relatively confident without sounding big-headed or anything that I would get a Championship club and get signed up before the start of the year.

“Obviously the longer it goes on, you’ve probably got to temper your expectations.

“Mentally and physically, having been indoors for a lot of the past nine or ten months, I know I’ve still got a lot to offer on the pitch and I know I’m not ready for this retired life just yet.

“I’d be open to a lot of stuff, to be fair so, I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Hull are under a transfer embargo which prevents them buying players until they have paid off a Football League loan, but loan signings and free transfers such as Huddlestone are permitted to allow them 23 senior players.

The Tigers are back in the Championship next season after a year away which saw them win the League One title.

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