Hull City have confirmed Ian Ashbee has been handed a new one-year contract extension.

Ashbee, who had been out of contract at the end of the season and is currently sidelined with a serious leg injury, is now committed to the club until 2011.

The news may raise eyebrows given concerns over Ashbee's fitness and the recent publication of alarming financial figures.

But in pointing the agreement was concluded on October 9, the club have made clear it predated the accounts revelations and the resignation of former chairman Paul Duffen.

Ashbee, 33, is unlikely to play again until March at the earliest after undergoing major surgery on a career-threatening bone condition for a second time.

The midfielder was found to have suffered a recurrence of a problem first encountered in 2005 whilst undergoing a routine operation on a knee injury sustained in May.

He consequently underwent a complicated operation in the United States which involved drilling holes in his femur to stimulate bone growth.

A club statement added: "Ian continues to work hard in his rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury and we look forward to seeing him back on the pitch as soon as possible."