Hull defender Anthony Gardner could be forgiven for wondering what might have been as Everton visit the KC Stadium this week.

The 28-year-old one-time England cap, whose career has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, endured an ill-fated loan with the Merseyside club last year.

Having fallen down the pecking order at Tottenham due to injuries, Gardner was allowed to move to Goodison Park for a short spell at the end of the 2007-08 campaign.

Yet various problems conspired to prevent him playing a single game for the Toffees and when a permanent move came up the following summer, it was to Hull and not David Moyes' side.

His first season at Hull proved another frustrating experience, featuring just eight first-team appearances, and there has already been a two-month lay-off this term. Now at last Gardner is starting to get a run of games, and after playing in four consecutive matches for Hull for the first time, he is determined not to dwell on his past misfortunes.

Gardner said: "I went to Everton with an injury from Spurs and it took most of the time I was there to get it right, so I never got an opportunity. I wasn't playing at Spurs at the time and thought it was a good opportunity to maybe play some games. It didn't turn out that way but you learn from things like that. These experiences happen."