Hull City boosted by return of international striker for Birmingham City clash

Hull City are boosted by the return of Finland international Marcus Forss for the trip to Birmingham City this weekend.

The on loan Brentford striker has missed the last couple of games with a hamstring injury but has recovered in time to face Blues.

He has scored once in six appearances since joining Shota Arveladze’s side in January and will come in to challenge Tyler Smith for the striking role.

However, the Tigers will be without midfielder Andy Cannon who picked up an injury in training on Thursday.

Arveladze said: “Cannon got injured during a session. He blocked the ball and twisted his ankle.

“We don’t know how serious it is but just two minutes before the whistle, he got a little bit of a knock. I hope everything is OK with him."

The visitors will also be without Chelsea loan goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, who has a hand injury, Lewie Coyle and Randell Williams. The experienced Matt Ingram will continue in goal.

But Mallik Wilks played 90 minutes and scored two goals for the Under 23s in Monday’s Professional Development League victory over Colchester United.

Wilks, who has played well against Blues in the past, is not ready to start but should feature on the bench.

Arveladze said: “It’s always good when players take these games very seriously, get these minutes, the yards, the kilometres, the sprints – which are needed because he was out for six or seven weeks.

“That’s always good to see someone showing themselves, scoring goals. It’s good for his confidence and it gives us confidence to use him in the next games.

“Injured players are coming back to being more involved and give us good options on the offensive side.”

Blues have Teden Mengi and Jeremie Bela back from injury and illness but will be without Maxime