Hull City boss Steve Bruce believes he will be able to call upon a "new signing" when welcoming Yannick Sagbo back into the ranks for this weekend's trip to Newcastle United. Sagbo has been out of action for almost a month after he was shown a straight red card just 27 minutes into his home debut for an attempted head-butt in City's 1-0 win over Norwich.
A three-game suspension was the striker's punishment for his moment of madness, ruling him out of the games against Leyton Orient, Manchester City and Cardiff City. But having come through an hour's run-out for the reserves last night, the £1.6m summer recruit from Evian returns to the fold for Saturday's trip to Tyneside.
The Tigers' goalscoring problems make Sagbo's impending comeback all the more significant and Bruce believes the Ivorian striker will be desperate to make amends.
"He's a different option for us. We're a little bit light up there but he's like a new player coming through the door again. That should be good for us," Bruce told the Mail. "It's been frustrating, of course, but he's fine. I don't think he'll stick the nut on anyone else for a while, that's for sure. He knows he let himself down.
"In football we all do things where we look afterwards and wonder what the hell have I done that for? It happens from time to time, it's football. It's gone, it's history, he's served his suspension and hopefully learned from it. He owes us and he owes the lads but he knows that. He gives us that little bit of firepower."
With Bruce seemingly unconvinced by the top-flight credentials of both Nick Proschwitz and Matty Fryatt, Sagbo's return will provide much-needed options at St James Park.• Robert Koren has emerged as a major doubt for City's trip to Newcastle as he awaits the outcome of scans on a foot injury. The Tigers' skipper complained of discomfort after last weekend's 1-1 draw with Cardiff and it is feared he could have suffered a broken bone in his foot, an injury that could see him sidelined until November.
• UPDATE: Koren ruled out for four to five weeks
• Proschwitz scores four as Hull City reserves beat Rotherham
