Tigers wait on Coyle

HULL City face a nervous wait to find out the extent of Lewie Coyle’s shoulder injury which cut short his league debut on Tuesday night.

The defender took a heavy knock in the opening five minutes of City’s 1-0 victory, after an aerial challenge with AFC Wimbledon’s Steve Seddon, and though he was able to carry on, he later pulled up just shy of the half-hour mark.

City must now wait to see whether Coyle will be fit enough to be involved in Saturday’s crunch clash with promotion rivals Peterborough at the KCOM.

Coyle had been forced to be patient for his first league start, owing to the form of fellow summer arrival Josh Emmanuel, but head coach Grant Mccann opted to give Emmanuel a breather as the busy schedule takes its toll, and the former Fleetwood man will be frustrated at his latest setback.

Mccann admitted the plan was to give Emmanuel a complete rest, only to be forced into bringing him on half-anhour into a win settled in first-half injury time courtesy of Keane Lewis-potter’s header.

“I’m gutted for Lewie, I thought he started the game really well. It didn’t look too good from where we were sitting,” Mccann said of the challenge on Coyle.

“The guy has just come in on the side of him, Lewie has landed funny on the shoulder.

“So we don’t know, he’s come off with his arm in a t-shirt, almost like a sling.

“We’re not going to know what the damage is for another 24 to 48 hours.”

Emmanuel has been one of City’s star performers, keeping Coyle out of the side, but given the injury to the Hullborn defender, Mccann’s hand was forced in making that swift change.

“The idea with Josh Emmanuel was to give him a complete rest, really,” Mccann explained. “I didn’t want to bring him on, but with Lewie going off it forced our hand a little bit.”