Hull City injury and suspension woes open up January transfer window possibilities

The prospect of being without Liam Millar, Mohamed Belloumi and Oscar Zambrano for the foreseeable future is a worrying thought for Hull City and their supporters.

Millar and Belloumi have both suffered anterior cruciate knee ligament (ACL) injuries in quick succession and will not be back this season. As for Zambrano, he has been slapped with a ban for allegedly breaching doping offences, which Hull Live understands currently stands at 16 months, though the young Ecuadorian is appealing to the court of arbitration for sport in the hope of having it overturned.

Losing the two wingers is particularly galling for boss Tim Walter given their creative abilities, with Millar catching the eye in the opening weeks of the season. And so too Belloumi, who has probably been their best player in the first 14 games before coming off late on at Oxford United on November 5.

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City must now look at their devastating predicament as an opportunity going into the crucial January transfer window and the second half of the Championship campaign.

After the arrivals of Steven Alzate and Joao Pedro on free transfers - the 16th and 17th since the end of last season - their squad was at the absolute limit under EFL regulations. But knowing Millar and Belloumi are sidelined for the season and, as it stands, so too Zambrano, it creates three spaces in their squad, assuming bosses at the MKM Stadium de-register the trio once they submit their final squad within seven days of the window closing at 11pm on Monday, February 3.

Naturally, if there are to be any further departures in the January window, then that would also free up valuable extra space in Walter's squad and allow more wriggle room in the market, which has started to look light in recent weeks with injuries to Alzate, Marvin Mehlem and Carl Rushworth, in addition to Millar and Belloumi's issues.

The other key issue Walter hopes to avoid in the coming weeks ahead of January is City's form and the impact that could have on attracting players in the New Year.

City were able to attract Fabio Carvalho from Liverpool in January last term because they were in the thick of the promotion race. But if they're fighting against relegation, it will pose a problem to the Tigers and their hopes of bringing in genuine quality so that's something he'll hope to arrest between now and then.