Hull City assistant manager Dean Holden has confirmed that Super Eagles defender Semi Ajayi will return to the squad ahead of their Championship clash against Ipswich Town. Holden described Ajayi’s return as a “huge boost” for the Tigers in their push for promotion to the Premier League next season.
Ajayi, who joined Hull City last summer as a free agent, has yet to feature since returning from the AFCON 2025 in January.
The former Arsenal defender suffered a hamstring injury during the tournament in Morocco, which has kept him sidelined for the past eight league matches.
While sidelined, he missed Hull City’s matches against Preston North End, Swansea, Blackburn Rovers, Watford, Bristol City, Queens Park Rangers, Derby County, and Portsmouth. Giving an update on the squad on Monday, Holden confirmed that Ajayi has rejoined the squad and stated that there are no injury worries following the victory over Portsmouth.
“We’re fine, we’ve got a couple of bumps and niggles from the weekend,” Holden told Hull Live.
“Everybody’s come through unscathed, and we’ll welcome Semi back into the squad, which is a big boost for us.”
He stressed the significance of the Nigerian defender’s return to the team after observing him in training on Monday.
“He’s been out for a decent amount of time since that AFCON game. He’s not had loads of training, but trained again this morning (Monday), looks fine, and he’ll come back in, so that’s a big boost,” he added.
The 32-year-old will be aiming to get some game time to regain his rhythm ahead of the upcoming international break.
