Promotion would help Hobbs to banish his nightmare

Not with the prize of a return to the Premier League, a level he briefly played at as a teenager, so tantalisingly close.

“Promotion would mean everything,” says the 24-year-old, who a week ago was left as bemused as anyone in amber and black as to how the Tigers ended up 3-0 down just eight minutes into their game with Bolton Wanderers.

“It is fantastic to be involved in the promotion race, especially after what happened over the last year with the injury and so on.

“My knee is fine now. I still get aches and pains and I have to work on it every day but it has been good so far and, hopefully, it will continue to strengthen and become more stable.

“Before suffering an injury, I don’t think you realise just how lucky you are to be able to go out and ping a ball about. I won’t lie about how difficult it was.

“There were some bad moments along the way during those eight or nine months I was out. Having gone through that, I dread to think what it must be like to suffer a career-ending injury.

“Luckily, I got a lot of support from family and friends and people here at the club. My fiancee also had a baby (called Maxwell) and that was a big help in taking my mind off it. Seeing him grow up a little bit has been brilliant.”