Duffen defends Bullard deal

Hull City chairman Paul Duffen has insisted that signing Jimmy Bullard was not a major gamble. The midfielder arrived at the KC Stadium in a £5million deal in January but he will now miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery in America on Wednesday.Bullard picked up his latest problem during City's match against West Ham and it turned out to be more serious than initially feared."Jimmy underwent a procedure last night with Dr Richard Steadman in Denver to address a small tear he had on his cartilage," Duffen explained to Sky Sports News."Whilst in there, under the arthroscopy, the surgeon noticed that he had some fresh bleeding from an anterior cruciate ligament trauma"This was obviously a new injury and the decision was made to reconstruct that ligament."UnfortunateBullard was sidelined for 18 months after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury whilst playing for Fulham in 2006.He had made a successful return to action and Duffen does not regret the decision to move for him during the transfer window.The Tigers have tied Bullard to a long-term contract and Duffen hopes he will have a successful career with the club.Asked if it was a gamble to bring in Bullard, Duffen replied: "No more than signing any footballer. Jimmy had an operation but since then he's played 45 games. He played three games in December and he played on Boxing Day."It is just a really unfortunate piece of timing that he got injured at West Ham when he was on the pitch in a Hull City shirt for the first time."It is very disappointing but we signed him for four-and-a-half years and the important thing is that we can look forward to welcoming Jimmy back as a new signing all over again next season."This isn't a career-ending injury, it's a setback. Reconstructions like this are routine and he is in the hands of the best renowned surgeon in the world so I am sure we will see Jimmy back before too long."MedicalDuffen believes the latest operation should see Bullard overcome his knee problems once and for all. Questioned about how Bullard passed a medical, Duffen added: "He didn't have crocked knees when he came. He passed the medical because the MRI scan showed the knee was fine, there was no damage to it."He injured his knee at West Ham and for us that is bad luck. There was no reason to believe Jimmy would be injured so soon in his Hull City career."Jimmy's value still remains. We have signed him for four-and-a-half years and I think he will be back stronger and better with a permanent fix to this problem."

Source: SKY_Sports