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Sergej Jakirovic's big benefit as Hull City prepare for pre-season finale

· Barry Cooper · 2026-08-14T04:17:51+00:00 · nguồn gốc

Sergej Jakirovic believes having two clear weeks back at home in the build-up to playing Manchester United will come as a big benefit to his squad. Over the past three weeks, City have clocked up well over 3,000 air miles, spending almost 10 days in Slovenia, before heading to Istanbul for four days at the end of that trip. City’s squad were at home for just a few days before they were back in the air for their penultimate friendly in Germany against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Tigers didn’t arrive in Frankfurt until late on Friday night, and then were straight on the flight back to Humberside Airport after the game, landing shortly before 10pm to conclude what had been a hectic spell. JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page After so much travel, the players can now look forward to a settled period heading into that huge season curtain raiser against the Red Devils on Saturday week. Their final friendly of the summer comes against French Ligue 1 side Nice on Saturday afternoon, in what will be their first outing on home turf since the play-off semi-final first leg draw with Millwall back in early May. It will also give their flurry of new signings a first chance to play at the MKM Stadium, and get to grips with it before the opening game. “That's a big, big benefit,” Jakirovic said. “Finally, it’s also a chance for our new players to feel our stadium, to feel our pitch for better orientation." The biggest question mark facing Jakirovic on Saturday will be the state of his starting line-up, which could provide a useful indication of what his team against United will be a week later. With the injuries already stacking up, Jakirovic will be desperate to get through the week of training, not only with no fresh concerns but a number of new faces, too. Jack Butland, Charlie Hughes, Darko Gyabi and Cody Drameh are definitely out, but Paddy McNair and Liam Millar are both expected to be fine after coming off injured in the first half in Frankfurt. John Egan was left behind to nurse an ankle problem, while new signing Jens Hjerto-Dahl complained of some groin discomfort after he was withdrawn on the hour mark, but both are likely to be involved. “First, I have to see who is available because we have a lot of problems, especially with some positions. In some positions, we don't have this profile of player, so we will see, I don’t know what will happen," the City boss told Hull Live. Jakirovic admits the Tigers’ ongoing injury problems are incredible, though he admits some are unavoidable, and some date back to last season. "In the case of Charlie Hughes and Cody Drameh, both those were issues last term, while Darko Gyabi, Paddy McNair and Liam Millar’s were just things that happened in the game," he explained. Though he was on crutches at the end of the game in Germany, Millar declared himself fine, after a clash just below his knee and is expected to be fine, returning to full training on Thursday. Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories.