Hull City boss issues injury update as striker ruled out for Leeds United clash

Hull City will be without Liam Delap when they make the journey to Elland Road to face Leeds United next Monday. Delap was a key figure for the Tigers over the opening half of the Championship season, bagging seven goals for the club and helping to push Liam Rosenior's side towards the play-off picture.

However, the Manchester City loanee hasn't been seen in a Hull shirt since January after injuring his knee. He's been a big miss for the East Yorkshire outfit, who haven't won in four and now sit three points behind the top six pace, but there is hope that he will be able to return to the fold sooner rather than later as the Tigers look to piece together form over their remaining nine games.

It seems the trip to Leeds on Easter Monday will come slightly too soon for the England U21 international, though, with Rosenior confirming the forward, who also missed the club's warm weather camp in Turkey, isn't expected to be ready until after their clash at Elland Road.

"All of the reports I'm getting are that he's doing better and better and he's getting ahead of schedule," the Hull boss said on Delap's injury status. "I don't want to put pressure on but we're looking at having him in, I would say, mid-April - a couple of weeks.

"When we have him back, we've decided with Manchester City because of their facilities and because of what they can give him, when he comes back, he's fully fit.

"When he comes back, they rehab him to a point where he can go straight into full training, and I think that's quite right for him and when that happens, obviously he's going to be like a new player, he's been a big miss for us, a really big miss."

The Tigers face Stoke City at the MKM Stadium on Good Friday before making the journey to Leeds and they'll hope to do so without any other major injury concerns.