Snodgrass layoff doesn’t stop him being the Hull City joker

As far as the Tartan Army is concerned, he has been conspicuous by his absence.

Robert Snodgrass, the Scottish Football Writers International Player of the Year and a £7-million summer signing by Hull City, has been out of action with a shattered kneecap.

That has meant having to watch quietly from the side-lines as the country has recorded crucial wins over the Republic of Ireland and Georgia to edge closer to Euro 2016 qualification.

However as team-mate and friend, Andrew Robertson revealed, it has been a very different story off the field.

“Snoddy talks to me every day and tries to keep me going and it is not just me either but all the boys,” he said.

“His personality is different class. Even when he is out for this long (his total lay-off has been estimated at six months) he still puts a smile on everyone’s face.

“That was a very bad injury he got in what was our first game of the season, the kind you don’t want to see to happen to anyone, especially to such a great guy.

“He is always cracking the jokes and winding the staff up which is great to have around the changing room.”

Not that any of the players are in danger of forgetting the real reason he is there.

“Listen, Snoddy is a massive player,” said Robertson, scorer of Scotland’s goal against England and a teammate at the KC Stadium.

“He has probably not shown it for Hull yet because he’s only played one or two games but he was brilliant for Norwich and especially so for the country.

“He always came up with goals. The quicker we can have him available as an option for club and country again the better. We can help him as much as we can with his fitness if he ever needs help then I will be one of the first to offer.

“He is back in the gym, in among the boys that are injured so I think he is probably a lot happier inside than he was a month or two ago. The first day we see him on the training field again will be a very happy one.”

For the former Dundee United defender himself, it is all systems go with this afternoon seeing Hull at home to Tottenham Hotspur.

“It is a massive game for us,” he said. “Before the international break we had a disappointing loss away to Burnley. But other than that we have been doing OK and I am loving it down there.”