Jimmy Bullard may be forced to make his return to the Hull City first team from the bench as Phil Brown is resisting putting him in the starting line-up. The 30-year-old was Hull’s record signing when he arrived at the KC Stadium in January and he sustained a serious injury just 37 minutes into his debut which has seen him out for nine months. Bullard has made two reserve team appearances in the last fortnight as he eyes and emotional return to the first team against his former side Fulham. Hull will be looking to continue on from their 2-1 victory over Wigan in their last Premier League outing and a victory at Craven Cottage could propel them out of the relegation places. Brown is keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to Bullard and told the Hull Daily Mail the midfielder could start the game on the substitutes' bench. "It'll be a very hard decision to either play him or not play him because it's got to be right,” said the Hull manager. “Starting might be a little bit too much if he's only had 45 and 70 minute run-outs. We all want him to play, the management team, the players and the fans, because he's such a quality player.” Fulham go into the match without suspended midfielder Kagisho Dikagcoi but Damien Duff is expected to make a recovery from a calf problem to play some part in the game.