STEVE Bruce will resist the urge of handing Gedo and Ahmed Fathi a first Hull City start at Brighton tomorrow – but hinted at least one of the Tigers' new boys will make the substitutes bench.
Having signed on loan from Egyptian giants Al Ahly in the final hours of the January transfer window, Gedo and Fathi finally joined up with City yesterday ahead of the trip to the Amex Stadium.
A hectic week saw the pair granted work permits from the British Embassy on Tuesday, before travelling to Madrid to feature in Egypt's 2-1 friendly loss to Chile on Wednesday evening.
Bruce is concerned the exertions will have taken their toll on Gedo and Fathi this week, but will measure the newcomers' fitness in a training session at Arsenal en route to the Sussex coast this afternoon.
"There's no chance of either player starting, but we'll weigh up whether or not to put them on the bench," Bruce told the Mail.
"They're extremely tired. They've been on trains, planes and automobiles this week to get here.
"We'll train down at Arsenal and we'll see by the look of them. They've not played a lot so we'll take that into account.
"There's no question about their ability. You don't become a regular for the Egypt national team if you can't play. The big issues are how fit they are and how quickly they can adapt to English football.
"It won't be easy for them but they're very good players who are used to pressure."
The attacking threat of Gedo makes him the most likely to be handed a place on the bench tomorrow, but the absence of Abdoulaye Faye may also usher Fathi forward.
Faye has been ruled out for at least three weeks with a calf strain, however, Bruce will be able to call upon last week's knee injury victim David Meyler after he trained fully yesterday.
