Hull City v Ipswich preview

Hull City v Ipswich preview

Published Oct. 19, 2012 9:16 a.m. ET

Team news ahead of Saturday's Championship clash between Hull City and Ipswich at the KC Stadium.

Hull defenders James Chester and Joe Dudgeon are both expected to return to Steve Bruce's squad.

Chester has been sidelined since the end of September with a hamstring injury, while Dudgeon missed the victory at Sheffield Wednesday last time out due to a knee problem, which also forced him to withdraw from the Northern Ireland squad this week.

Another defender, Alex Bruce, is not expected to be involved. He too was denied a possible debut for Northern Ireland this week because of a groin strain.

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Midfielder Robert Koren (groin) was also absent against Sheffield Wednesday and is not ready to return, but midfielders Corry Evans and Ahmed Elmohamady, plus defender Paul McShane and goalkeeper Ben Amos all came through unscathed following international duty.

The Tigers bounced back from three straight league defeats with victory at Sheffield Wednesday in their last match.

Nigel Reo-Coker and Stephen Henderson come into contention for their Ipswich debuts, meanwhile.

Midfielder Reo-Coker has been brought in on a short-term deal until January to try and help struggling Town climb the Championship table, while goalkeeper Henderson has arrived on a three-month loan deal from West Ham.

Henderson's arrival takes Ipswich's number of loan players to eight and manager Paul Jewell has plenty to ponder ahead of the trip to the KC Stadium.

Only five are allowed in any matchday 18, although Guirane N'Daw and Daryl Murphy are excluded as they are from overseas clubs. That means one of Henderson, DJ Campbell, Richie Wellens, Bilel Mohsni - also recent recruits - Danny Higginbotham and Massimo Luongo must be omitted.

Striker Michael Chopra comes back into the frame after he was left out of the 2-1 home defeat to Cardiff last time out, with the game coming just days after he was one of nine people charged in connection with race-fixing by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

Full-back Elliott Hewitt is recovering from a bout of tonsillitis while striker Paul Taylor (foot) remains a long-term absentee.

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