Wilks out, Smith in contention for first league start against QPR

Grant McCann says he is ‘frustrated’ by the loss of Mallik Wilks. Picture credit: Hull City

Forward Mallik Wilks will miss Hull City’s Sky Bet Championship clash with QPR on Saturday after failing to recover from a calf injury picked up in the opening day win at Preston.

The Tigers host Rangers at the MKM Stadium in their first home league game of the season hoping to build on their stunning 4-1 comeback win at Deepdale at the weekend.

But they will be without Wilks after the striker was hurt in what City boss Grant McCann described as a late tackle that “we all thought maybe would have been a sending off”.

Speaking at a virtual press conference on Thursday, McCann also said it was too early to say how long Wilks would be sidelined for.

“We’ll lose Mallik Wilks,” he said. “The tackle that he received in the Preston game, which we all thought maybe would have been a sending off; it didn’t happen.

“A late tackle on him, which is frustrating for us.

“In terms of timescale on Mallik, we don’t know. His calf’s a bit swollen at the minute, a lot of blood in there, so once that settles down and the blood disperses we’ll be able to give you a better indication of timescale.

“Hopefully, it’s not going to be too long, fingers crossed.”

Asked how much he would miss Wilks - last season’s top scorer - McCann said: “He’s a big player for us, it’s a blow, but it’s the reason why we have a squad and the reason why we recruited the way we did in the summer.”

On the plus side, the City manager will have five more players to choose from, with Callum Elder, Sean McLoughlin, Randell Williams, Ryan Longman, and Thomas Mayer all available for selection having trained this week.

McCann said Manchester City loanee Matt Smith was in contention for his first league start for The Tigers, describing the midfielder’s performance in the 90 minutes he played in the Carabao Cup against Wigan on Tuesday as “excellent”.

“I thought he was excellent,” McCann said.

“I thought he handled the 90 minutes really well. You can see what he’s about.

“We like those high-energy midfield players who can get about the pitch and get in control of the game and get in control of the ball. So it was a good debut from him, I was really pleased.”

Asked if Smith had done enough to keep his place, McCann said: “He’s definitely in consideration, for sure.

“That performance just emphasised what we brought him to the football club for, and what we’d seen over the last 18 months or so, particularly the spell at Doncaster, so he’s definitely in the picture, yeah.”

Smith told reporters that 90 minutes on Tuesday was the first he’d completed since the last game of last season.

The Wales international said he was “loving” being at City and settling well into life at the club.

“Really enjoyed it,” he said. “The camaraderie and the professionalism is something that is evident to see straight away.

“That’s something I’ve really enjoyed about the place, and the momentum following on from last season, you can see it.

“It’s a really nice place to come into and it it’s really positive, and yeah, I‘m loving it.”

Smith also revealed he had to sing Wonderwall by Oasis as part of his initiation into the squad, which he described as “very boring and very basic”.

He added: “Going into any dressing room, you’ve got to make sure you can show what you’re about as a person and as a player.”

McCann said there was no update on the potential signing of former Tiger Tom Huddlestone, although one player would have to leave the club to make way for him to join.

Despite delivering the standout result in the division on the opening day, McCann said City were “going to have to be better than last week” to beat QPR.