Striker crisis is a worry for Bruce
HULL CITY boss Steve Bruce is weighing up the risk of throwing former Rangers striker Sone Aluko and Gaston Ramirez straight back into the firing line after only a couple of days back from injury.
The Tigers have a deepening injury crisis, with first-choice strike pair Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez both picking up problems last weekend that will see them sidelined for several weeks.
Aluko and Ramirez may have returned in the nick of time ahead of today’s trip to West Ham, but Bruce is concerned that only two training sessions may not be enough – and is even considering playing central defender Harry Maguire as a makeshift forward.
Bruce said: “You’re always worried, especially this year. Have they done enough? Are they undercooked? Are they going to break down?
“Unfortunately that can happen. We’ve not done too much in the two days before the game, so we’ll see how they are physically.
“I don’t think I have ever had it so bad with injuries.
“It looks like I am not going to be able to pick my strongest team at all this season.
“Of course we look at training methods and this and the other, but they have all happened in games and there is nothing you can do about that. It is frustrating though, I have to tell you.”
Hull are in the middle of a relegation scrap – they are third from bottom, while West Ham are flying high by comparison in eighth.
The match will also pit West Ham’s Andy Carroll up against James Chester – a battle the pair have enjoyed most years since they were nine and playing for the academy sides at Newcastle and Manchester United respectively.
Carroll is a 6ft 4in giant while defender Chester is 5ft 10in, but the Tigers player says he has always managed to handle the challenge.
Chester said: “I can jump higher than most, so it’s never seemed to hamper me too much. Some of the best centre-halves in the world are small.”