Source: Daily_Mail
Hull chairman denies Bullard a bad investment after seven-month lay off
Jimmy Bullard may not be fit to return for Hull City[LNB]until September as he tries to recover from knee surgery.[LNB]Bullard has been in America to see specialist Richard Steadman and is not fit to fly home for another fortnight.[LNB]It was believed before the surgery that Bullard just had a torn cartilage - but an arthroscopy revealed anterior cruciate ligament damage.[LNB] Floored: Bullard lies in agony on his Hull debut[LNB]Hull chairman Paul Duffen admitted: 'For this injury, people normally quote a ball-park figure of six months. It can be four months or seven months.'[LNB]Duffen denied that the Bullard deal has been a bad investment. 'This is a player that we did well to buy for £5million. We bought him for four and a half years. I liken it to buying a house. If it floods, it's still worth the same amount when you dry it up. The value is not eroded.'[LNB]Hull's record signing Jimmy Bullard has been ruled out for the rest of the season [LNB] And he does not think that Fulham pulled the wool over Hull's eyes by selling them an injured player. [LNB]Obviously, it's the same knee and the last injury that he had was horrendous. But Jimmy underwent a thorough medical and there is no suggestion that he came with this injury.'[LNB]The Hull chairman said the news will not hurt their attempts to stay in the Premier League.[LNB]'You can't miss what you've never had,' said Duffen. 'He was never part of the team. It's a great disappointment but we need to win three more Premier League games and can do that.'[LNB]Bullard became Hull's record signing in January, moving from Fulham for £5million. He is on a £50,000-a-week deal but has played just 37 minutes, coming on as a substitute at West Ham, when he sustained his new injury by jarring his knee.[LNB]There had been suggestions that Hull knew the injury would keep him out in the long-term before Bullard went for his operation.[LNB]But Duffen said: 'We just thought it would be a routine flushing out of the knee after a meniscus tear.'[LNB] Blow for Bullard as Hull midfielder is ruled out for the season[LNB]Top of the stops: Van der Sar is the Premier keeper, but where do Reina, Cech, Almunia, James et al come in our clean sheet table?[LNB]HULL CITY FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET[LNB][LNB] [LNB]
