Hull face anxious wait over Maguire injury news

Joe Williams

Hull head coach Marco Silva faces an anxious wait to learn the full extent of Harry Maguire’s knee injury following his side’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Burnley at the KCOM Stadium.

Maguire needed lengthy treatment after appearing to twist his knee in Burnley’s penalty area 10 minutes before the break, but soldiered on for the full 90 minutes and produced another colossal display at the back for the Tigers.

“I hope it’s a knock, we’ll see over the next few days,” Silva said when asked about Maguire’s injury.

“What he showed for me and all our fans – he has a fantastic attitude and fantastic spirit.”

Maguire is a reported £15million summer transfer target for Tottenham, while Premier League rivals Everton, West Ham and Southampton have also been linked with the 23-year-old.

“He was maybe 50 per cent for the whole of the second half and the last 10 minutes of the first half,” Silva said.

“He has a big attitude and fantastic behaviour and we need players like Maguire, not only because he is a very good centre-back – we’ll see what Maguire will do over the coming years.

“He has the capacity to have a really big career, but he also has a big attitude during the week and during the games and he’s shown this again.”

Hull went ahead through Tom Huddlestone’s 72nd-minute penalty after Michael Keane was adjudged to have handled by referee Martin Atkinson.

But the Burnley defender quickly made amends by drilling home his side’s equaliser at the far post following a corner four minutes later.

The Clarets then finished the match with 10 men, with Ashley Barnes picking up a second yellow card in stoppage time after the Burnley striker had earlier been booked for dissent when Atkinson awarded Hull their penalty.

The point was not enough to lift the Tigers out of the relegation zone following Crystal Palace’s win against Middlesbrough, while Leicester joined them in the bottom three.

“We always prepare the team to win, not to come away with one point. Of course you want more,” Silva said.

“We’re a little bit disappointed with the result but that’s football. It was a tough game for us.

“We suffered from a corner for their goal and the players know, we prepare for this type of corner, but we lost our focus.

“I know it’s football, but we need to keep our focus during all the game.”

Silva’s side are level on points with Leicester, who play Liverpool at home on Monday, and the significance of Hull’s trip next week to the King Power Stadium is not lost on the Portuguese.

“It’s really important because it’s the next game. If you asked me before the most important game was Burnley and now it’s the game against Leicester,” he said.

“Of course I understand your question but we think only game by game and the next is Leicester.”

Burnley are still without an away win in the top flight this season and have now registered just two points in 12 games on the road, but boss Sean Dyche was satisfied with his side’s draw.

“The only question from our point of view, and I said to the players, was just that top-third moment,” Dyche said.

“We got in some brilliant positions, it was just an over-hit cross, an over-hit pass on the counter a couple of times.

“But generally, I thought we gave a good account of ourselves.”

Dyche felt it was harsh on defender Keane to have been penalised for handball, but also sympathised with referee Atkinson.

“I’ve seen them given and not given,” said the Clarets boss.

“I’m more aggrieved with Barnesy. His second booking is a booking definitely, but the first one?

“You know the behaviour of our players, it’s immaculate. Barnes was not aggressive and there were no expletives because I’ve seen it.”