Hull City's latest Liam Delap update is as important as any of their January signings: View | OneFootball

Hull City have received some good news ahead of their push for the play-offs.

The Tigers have had a strong campaign so far, and they currently find themselves eighth in the Championship, but would be even higher up the table if they were able to find some consistency throughout the season.

They have won 13, drawn six and lost 11 of their 30 league matches so far this season, which is far from a terrible record for Liam Rosenior's first full season with the club, but there are improvements to be made.

Saturday was disappointing for Hull as they welcomed Swansea to the MKM Stadium before suffering a 1-0 defeat to the side in the bottom half of the table.

A win would have seen them sit inside the play-offs by the end of the weekend, so Rosenior will undoubtedly be frustrated.

Despite the poor result, Hull City did recently receive some good news regarding one of their star attackers, Liam Delap.

A recent development on his injury has caused excitement among the Hull City faithful as they anticipate his return from the sidelines.

The club enjoyed a lively January transfer window, but the news regarding Delap is considered just as promising in terms of their hopes of promotion.

Hull City's January transfer window

The Tigers brought in seven fresh faces during the January transfer window as they looked to build up their strength in depth. Perhaps the most notable signing arrived from Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool as Fabio Carvalho linked up with the Hull City squad on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Zaroury and Sharp were brought in as attacking reinforcements, potentially filling the void that was created when Delap suffered his injury. The Burnley loanee is capable of playing on both wings, while Sharp offers plenty of Championship experience to Hull's forward line.

However, with the promising news regarding Delap coming about, those two fresh faces may see less game time than they expected, as Delap would undoubtedly walk into Hull's team based on his form earlier in the season.

What has been said regarding Delap?

In mid-January, Liam Rosenior confirmed that Delap would miss the next "two to three months" due to a knee injury, but just a month since, there has been some good news.

Last week, Rosenior spoke to Hull live and stated,

"He got the news on his birthday as well. So that's great. I won't put a timeline on Liam's injury for when he will be back, but the first real positive sign is that he doesn't need surgery, and that's brilliant for everyone."

"He's delighted. I spoke to him earlier this morning. He had a Facetime call with the lads in our team meeting today. We miss him, so I gave him a Facetime call in front of the lads and they all wished him well.

He's a big part of things here. He's a big character and he's missed. The most important thing is he gets back one hundred per cent fit and ready, hopefully for the rest of this season, but definitely the rest of his career."

The Hull boss was keen not to put a timescale on Delap's return but said, "there's a real possibility that he could be back for us to help us in the run-in".

Delap's return will be crucial for Hull

The 21-year-old is clearly rated highly by Rosenior and everyone at the club, and is a huge influence in the dressing room and on the pitch.

Before his injury, Delap managed to score seven goals and assist two in 26 league appearances, and was playing the best football of his short senior career so far. He either operated as the number nine or on the right wing, but he did not look out of place against tough opposition in either role, scoring goals against Leicester City and Southampton.

Since Delap's injury, Hull have scored just three goals in four league games, and seem to be struggling in the final third. Obviously, with Delap coming back into the squad, this issue will be resolved, but they may still have to wait some time.

The Tigers will be hoping that the likes of Fabio Carvalho and Anass Zaroury will begin to hit the ground running, but the sooner Delap returns, the better. His superb attacking qualities will give Hull a far better chance of finishing inside the play-offs, and he will certainly be hungry to score goals after sitting on the sidelines.