Hull's Sorba Thomas escapes unharmed after flipping his car near training ground

Sorba Thomas escaped without injury after flipping his car near Hull City’s Cottingham training ground on Friday morning, with the club confirming the Wales international is “totally unscathed” and available for Saturday’s Premier League fixture at Chelsea.

Images circulating on social media showed a Land Rover Defender with a personalised registration plate lying upside down beside a narrow residential street. Eyewitnesses reported the incident occurred at around 9am, with fire engines and police attending the scene. Hull manager Sergej Jakirovic was also pictured at the site.

In a statement, the club said: “Hull City is relieved to confirm that Sorba Thomas is unharmed following a road traffic accident near to the club’s Cottingham training ground. The club is aware of images of Sorba’s car circulating on social media and can reassure supporters that he has sustained no injuries and emerged from his vehicle completely unscathed.”

Thomas joined Hull from Stoke on deadline day and made his debut in last week’s draw with Aston Villa. Jakirovic had spoken warmly about the winger just the day before the incident, expressing confidence in his ability to make an impact.

“I don’t have any doubt about Sorba because he made a difference in the Championship at Stoke,” the manager said. “He is a left winger and we can use him inside like a left-sided number 10. He knows football. He is very good in delivery and his end product is good. Also, he has very good set-pieces. He is sharp and has speed. I think he suits us a lot.”

Hull travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday to face a Chelsea side Jakirovic described as presenting a “very, very demanding” challenge. The Hull boss acknowledged the difficulty of containing the free-scoring Blues, stressing that a compact, collective defensive effort would be essential. “It’s about being together — compact team, team effort and defending as a team,” he said. “They have very, very big quality, but it’s a great challenge ahead of us, and we will try to play.”