Hull City’s bid to beat the drop has been hit by the news that midfielder Mohamed Diame will miss the closing games of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

The 27-year-old Senegal international has not featured for nearly a month and has now been ruled out until next season, with the Tigers battling to preserve their top-flight status.

Diame only returned to action in early April after four months on the sidelines with his knee problem and he has now suffered another setback which has ended his campaign.

Ahead of a must-win game at home to Burney on Saturday, City boss Steve Bruce confirmed: “Diame is out. He’s seen a specialist and will have an operation on Tuesday.”

The Tigers go into the game against the Clarets just one point and one place outside the drop zone, having been beaten 3-1 at home by Arsenal last time out.

And Bruce expects the battle to beat the drop to go all the way to the final day of the season, with Hull having Tottenham and Manchester United to play in their last two fixtures.

He added: “Who could have predicted how it’s going to be? It’s going to go down to the wire, we’re ready for that.”

Burnley head to the KC Stadium knowing they need to win the game to have any chance of keeping their bid to survive alive, as they are eight points adrift of safety with just three games to play.

Hull are 1.95 to secure a crucial win on Saturday, with the draw 3.30 and a Burnley victory 4.40.