What Charlie Hughes and Oli McBurnie said to Liam Millar after big Hull City moment | OneFootball

The Canadian scored his first goal in 12 months for the Tigers as their impressive run of form continued against the Foxes

Hull City duo Charlie Hughes and Oli McBurnie were amongst the plethora of players to congratulate Tigers winger Liam Millar on his stunning opener against Leicester City on Tuesday night, after which his side emerged eventual 2-1 victors.

It has been a long road back to full fitness for the Canadian international, who was handed his first start under the management of Sergej Jakirovic and his first in 363 days altogether after suffering a well-documented ACL injury in a 1-1 draw against eventual promotion winners, Burnley, at the MKM Stadium just 12 months ago.

The East Yorkshire side has been completely transformed in many ways ever since then, with Millar unable to play a part in the final weeks of Tim Walter's ill-fated reign after being brought to the club for just £1.5m from Swiss side, FC Basel, last August, as well as being sidelined throughout the entirety of Ruben Selles' six-month period in charge as the Tigers just about kept their heads above relegation danger at the end of last season.

After gradually working his way back towards the first-team fold throughout Jakirovic's first pre-season in HU3, the 26-year-old made a return to the squad for the 2-1 defeat against Watford on September 27th, before making a handful of appearances from the bench as the Bosnian's freshly-moulded side have embarked on an impressive run of recent form.

Millar was extremely influential in the final 20 minutes of a pulsating 3-2 success against Birmingham City at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on Saturday afternoon, during which he posted his first goal contribution since October 1st of last year with an assist for Joe Gelhardt, before returning his attacking counterpart's favour in the sixth minute of an impressive victory against Leicester.

It was another end-to-end clash involving Hull which played out against Marti Cifuentes' side on Tuesday night, with the former Liverpool man displaying a high-quality performance that was embodied by his first goal of the season, bending a stunning effort past a helpless Jakub Stolarczyk.

Millar was also integral in the making of Gelhardt's strike which doubled the advantage on 31 minutes, as he played in Ryan Giles, who posted his league-high sixth assist of the campaign with a teasing delivery for the Leeds United loanee to turn home.

The 37-time international was then key to a defensive performance which saw Hull also record three wins on the spin for the first time in just over a year, with the vast majority of the 20,211 attendance heaping mass praise on his performance post-match.

As has become customary in the modern age, Millar took to his own Instagram profile to issue an emotional message, thanking those who helped him come through a difficult period, which culminated in the goal against the Foxes.

"3 on the spin! Great mentality showed again by the lads ❤️," he began. "on a personal note buzzing to score my first goal after being out for so long."

"Long may it continue! Up the tigers 🐯🧡🖤," Millar added.

Hughes, who was captain for the night in place of Lewie Coyle, signed for the club in the same month as Millar under the aforementioned Walter. The 22-year-old centre-back was, unsurprisingly, made up for his teammate, responding: "He’s back 🔥 proud of you brother!"

McBurnie, who has been extremely influential since joining on a free transfer with nine goal contributions, was forced to watch Millar's shining performance from the stands due to a knee issue, and stated: "Well done GB❤️❤️" which received a response from the wide player.

Giles, who has also re-emerged from the shadows in East Yorkshire to great effect, replied with: "The boy is soooo back 😍", with Millar also receiving messages from the likes of Matt Crooks, Ivor Pandur and his former Preston North End teammate, Brad Potts.

Hull City supporters will hope Liam Millar can stay injury-free and aid potential play-off bid

City supporters were highly anticipating Millar's eventual return from the sidelines in the opening weeks of the season, having already seen what he is capable of prior to such horrific injury misfortune, with the same being said for Mohamed Belloumi, who is currently sidelined once again due to a hamstring issue.

His return has only added to the feel-good factor in this part of Yorkshire, with Hull involved in plenty of end-to-end games and emerging on the right side of the scoreline, which currently has them on the periphery of the play-off spots after just 11 games.

13 of the club's 18 points have also been accrued at the MKM, which is a stark contrast to last season, when the Tigers only accumulated 23 in as many home matches.

It is very early days and the table remains very much congested, but there is plenty of room for optimism amongst supporters, with many drawing comparisons to the unexpected promotion season of 2007/08 under Phil Brown, with Jakirovic getting the best out of many individuals despite being hit with a two-window transfer fee restriction in the summer.