Hull City head coach Ruben Selles says Ivor Pandur is in a good place to return to the starting line-up at Sheffield United on Friday night after losing his place to Carl Rushworth, who has since returned to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Rushworth was handed a debut in the FA Cup against Doncaster Rovers, and has started the last two Championship games with Pandur dropped to the bench for the first time this season, but will start at Bramall Lane after the Premier League side activated their recall clause to get the Halifax-born stopper to the Amex Stadium as cover for the injured Jason Steele.

Albion had a 10-day recall clause which City extended in a bid to keep Rushworth for longer, but the injury to Steele meant he has gone back to the South Coast, catching the Tigers by surprise after being under the impression the player would remain at the MKM Stadium for the remainder of the season.

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Selles hasn't ruled out a late move in the window to provide further cover, but says that will only happen if the club decide to sanction a loan move for either Thimothee Lo-Tutala or Harvey Cartwright, with Anthony Racioppi still on the cusp of leaving the club.

As it stands, Lo Tutala will be the backup goalkeeper at Bramall Lane as City go in search of a third straight-away win, having won 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers and Millwall in their last two away trips.

"Well, it was a completely unexpected situation. We have been working with our goalkeepers with Carl," Selles told Hull Live. "Obviously, in the last games, we spoke with them (Brighton), and then we wanted to see because Carl was on loan and didn't have the chance to be fit and play during the season.

"When we realised yesterday that it is what it is, we need to accept it as part of the contract and we need to move forward. We wish him all the best. It's been a pleasure for us to have him here in our dressing room, and hopefully, he can go there and make an impact in the Premier League."

Selles said Pandur, while disappointed to have not played, understood why the club wanted to look at Rushworth for the first time this season, with it made clear the Croatian had done nothing wrong.

"We have been completely honest and transparent with Ivor," Selles explained. "He knew the reasons why we did it (made the change), and he knew that the reasons were not related to his performance. I think we trusted him when we played with him. We still trust him, and he knew the decision was not definitive when we moved Carl into the team. We wanted to see if we had the goalkeeper that we thought he was, and that's it.

"It's not complicated, and the way we do things, which we have spoken about many times (with the players), is just to be straightforward with them and give them the reason. If it was a reason because he was not doing his job, I would communicate that with him. That was not the reason. The reason was that we had a goalkeeper who was one of the best goalkeepers in the league last season, and we needed to see what he was capable of doing.

"For Anthony (Racioppi), the best thing to do is just to find a club where he can go and play. That has always been the priority, and it doesn't change that much now. I think he still needs to explore those situations because the main thing for him is playing.

"We have Tim (Lo Tutala), who has been working with us really hard and is a goalkeeper who is growing with the team, and he will push, together with Harvey (Cartwright) and Archie (Howard) and the team that is supporting us in the games, so I think we are covered in the goalkeeper position to support the goal.

"I think we already have a lot of goalkeepers in the house. We had already before Carl left, and we have a lot now. If, at some point, we have a loan that can be interesting for any of the keepers, and they can go and play, then we need to explore options, but right now, I think it's a position that we are fully covered."

Elsewhere, City will welcome back Abu Kamara into the squad for the Friday night clash under the Bramall Lane lights after he missed Tuesday's QPR defeat with a slight hip complaint, but skipper Lewie Coyle has not yet recovered from the gash he picked up at Millwall, which needed stitches, though he's expected to return against Stoke City next weekend in a must-win home encounter.

New signing Lincoln is expected to be in the squad after his move was ratified from Fenerbahce, but the club were waiting on international clearance for Monaco midfielder Eliot Matazo.

The Tigers will still be without Kasey Palmer, Charlie Hughes, Dogukan Sinik, Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi, while Oscar Zambrano remains suspended