Yu Hirakawa, who left Bristol City on loan in January, last featured for Hull City in a February defeat to Queens Park Rangers

Bristol City loanee Yu Hirakawa in action during his loan spell with Hull City(Image: Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Yu Hirakawa is in line to make an earlier-than-expected return from an ankle injury this weekend, with Sergej Jakirovic issuing an update on the Bristol City loanee’s fitness ahead of Hull City’s clash with Birmingham City.

Hirakawa, whose loan switch from J-League side Machida Zelvia was made permanent last February, left south Bristol during the January transfer window. With his game time limited under Gerhard Struber, he was allowed to make the temporary move to the MKM Stadium.

So far, the Japanese international has made six appearances for the Tigers in all competitions. The last of those outings came back in February, when he was withdrawn after 57 minutes against Queens Park Rangers with an ankle injury, having sat out the league game prior against his parent club.

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Reports initially emerged from Humberside to suggest the issue would require surgery, with any such operation likely to end Hirakawa’s season and hopes of featuring at this summer’s World Cup prematurely.

The 25-year-old had returned to south Bristol to decide whether or not to go under the knife, something City were “crystal clear” over. But when Struber issued his most recent update in March, no final call had been made, with a second opinion sought.

Now, however, the winger has managed to get back to match fitness and has returned to training with his loan club ahead of Birmingham’s visit to the MKM Stadium this Saturday.

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“Yu Hirakawa is with us,” Tigers boss Jakirovic told our sister publication, Hull Live, in a press conference on Thursday. “[He has] no pain, nothing. He trained normally, so he will be available.

“He showed in the previous games that he’s also a very good player, and he can help the team.”

With just four games left of the regular Championship season, Hull find themselves sitting sixth in the table, occupying the final play-off place. At the time of writing, just four points separate the Tigers and seventh-placed Wrexham, with Derby a single point further adrift in eighth.

City, on the other hand, currently sit 10th in the table, 10 points shy of Jakirovic’s side. Although with 12 points still to play for this term, a top six finish remains mathematically possible, it would take a historic turnaround for Roy Hodgson’s Robins to creep into the top six for the second time in as many seasons.

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What comes next for Hirakawa beyond the end of his time on Humberside is, at this stage, unclear. Prior to his sacking, Struber had suggested that he was keen to work with the Japanese international in the future, with his time with the Tigers viewed as a development opportunity.

Whether or not that remains the case come the summer will likely depend on who the Reds name as the Austrian’s permanent successor after Hodgson’s interim tenure.

The 25-year-old is under contract until the end of the 2027/28 campaign, so a transfer fee will almost certainly be required for Hull or any other club to secure his services on a permanent basis, if he is to leave the West Country.

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