Hull lose returning Gareth Ellis to head wound

It was a bad Friday night for Hull as they lost Gareth Ellis to injury, as well as suffering a 40-12 thumping at the hands of league leaders St Helens.

Hull trailed 40-0 at one stage and crashed to a fifth home defeat of the season as their inconsistency hit them hard once again.

Ellis, 38, was back in the line-up having missed the past two months with an achilles injury.

But he was taken off with a head wound and is now a doubt for their game against London next week.

Coach Lee Radford said: “It’s a bad one. He’s got to have some serous stitches in that one.

“We play a no-frills team next week in London who will compete at 80 per cent and, unless some blokes change their mindset, we’re going to face a similar result to tonight.”

After two successive losses, following the derby defeat to Hull KR last week, Hull are now just two points clear of Wigan.