Hull City beset by injuries as Marco Silva prepares for Manchester United test

Hull City could be without two of their first choice centre-halves for Tuesday's (10 January) EFL Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United.

After getting off to a winning start against Swansea City in the FA Cup on Saturday, Marco Silva takes his side to Old Trafford for the first leg of their tie. Club captain Curtis Davies will not make the trip, however, having failed to recover from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the cup win.

The Tigers are also sweating on the fitness of Michael Dawson, who was forced off after 70 minutes in that game after falling awkwardly on his shoulder. The former Tottenham Hotspur defender will undergo further tests on his shoulder on Monday afternoon, Hull have confirmed, before Silva makes a decision over whether to take him to Manchester.

Another defender, Harry Maguire, is a doubt for Tuesday's match. The 23-year-old missed Saturday's win due to a hip problem, but was able to return to first-team training on Monday. He will face a late fitness test.

Abel Hernandez, meanwhile, made his first appearance since early November against Swansea, opening the scoring for his side having come off the bench after 64 minutes. Hull suggest the Uruguay international could be fit enough to start at Old Trafford, but it is another decision Silva will make ahead of kick-off.

United are unbeaten in 14 games and Hull will be bracing themselves for the return of Jose Mourinho's big guns on Tuesday. Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera were all rested in the comfortable win over Reading in their FA Cup third-round clash, and while a Premier League showdown with Liverpool looms on Sunday, Mourinho plans to recall the quartet to his starting XI for the visit of Hull.

"I play with the players that didn't play today," said Mourinho said on Saturday. "I played with fresh players and I don't want to say anything about first choice or second choice but we played with fresh players, the players who didn't play against West Ham.

"In the next match against Hull City we are going to play again with fresh players. So it's easy to know our team – Zlatan, Pogba, Herrera, Valencia. The guys that didn't play today."