Hull City boss Steve Bruce branded defeat to West Bromwich Albion as an "awful" afternoon.

Strike partners Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernandez both limped off within minutes of one another as the Tigers slipped to a 1-0 defeat in a tight affair at the Hawthorns.

Early indications suggest Hernandez could miss "at least a month" with a groin injury, while Jelavic will require scans on his knee, Bruce said.

"We didn't deserve to get beat. But we didn't have enough when we lost the two strikers," said Bruce.

"The game had a 0-0 written all over it and as the away team you take it.

"(The goal) is a misunderstanding. The goalkeeper's come tearing out thinking he can collect it and Elmo's touched it back to him expecting him to kick it up the pitch. It happens.

"But to be punished like that and lose a game of this magnitude is awful. It's turned into one of those awful afternoons."