Bullard 'embarrassed' by injury

Jimmy Bullard has admitted he was left embarrassed picking up an injury so early into his Hull City career and has set his sights on a return to action next season. The talented midfielder is recovering from cruciate knee ligament surgery after he sustained the injury just 37 minutes into his debut for City against West Ham.Bullard joined the Tigers during the January transfer window in a big-money move from Fulham, but he has been unable to show the fans his true potential because of the injury.The 30-year-old is determined to bounce back from the injury and hopes to be back to fitness in six months."Whichever way I looked at it the situation was a killer for me, especially having just signed for Hull City and played less than half a game," Bullard told the club's CITY Magazine. Embarrassed"I was embarrassed to tell you the truth but no matter what anybody out there thinks, I had proved to myself that the knee was solid after the previous injury. "I'm on countdown mode already though. Being out for 16 months was just too long and I couldn't do that again - I'd have to go away somewhere and forget about football - but six months is easier to deal with and I've done a month of that now." Bullard spent over a year on the sidelines with a similar knee injury during his Fulham days and the former Wigan man insists he will not be taking any risks with his fitness.Progress"When I say six months, that's the average recovery time for an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction but I haven't really put a definitive time frame on being fit again. If it's earlier than that then great, if it's later then so be it," added Bullard."Myself and the medical staff are just taking a day at a time and we'll see how things progress. I'm off the crutches now which is a big step for me and I'll just keep setting little goals to aim for."

Source: SKY_Sports