promotion to the Championship, Hobbs was also included in the PFA Team of the Year. He was also voted as the club's Young Player of the Year, as he made 44 appearances, in which his team conceded 37 goals. Hobbs signed for Leicester City permanently on 24 April 2009 on a four-year contract. After signing, he said that he believed that with Leicester he could win promotion to the Premier League. He made his first appearance after signing permanently on 8 August against Swansea City in a 2–1 home victory. Playing alongside Wayne Brown at centre-back, Hobbs missed only two league matches in the 2009–10 season, and made a total of 49 appearances. At the end of the season, he won the Player of the Year award, and shared the Players' Player of the Year award with Andy King. On being named Player of the Year, Hobbs said that he was honoured to win award. Hull City In the 2010–11 season, Hobbs played 30 times for Leicester City. However, with the arrival of Sol Bamba, he found his playing time increasingly limited. With speculation that Leicester would sign Chelsea defender Jeffrey Bruma on loan, new manager Sven-Göran Eriksson said that Hobbs could join another club. He joined Leicester's fellow Championship club Hull City on 15 February 2011 on loan for the rest of the 2010–11 season. He made his debut a week later in a 1–0 away win against Derby County. Failing to break into the team due to competition from James Chester and Anthony Gerrard, Hobbs expressed his desire to return to Leicester once the loan spell ended. Nevertheless, he made 13 appearances for Hull during his loan spell. On 30 June 2011, Hobbs signed for Hull permanently on a three-year contract. BBC Sport reported the transfer fee as an initial £850,000, potentially rising to £1 million in add-ons. He was also appointed as club captain for the 2011–12 season. Hobbs made his debut as a permanent Hull player on 5 August in a 1–0 home defeat to Blackpool. On 11 February 2012, he scored his first league goal in three years in a 3–0 home victory over Bristol City, heading in a Robert Koren cross. During a match against Coventry City on 31 March, he injured himself while tackling Alex Nimely during first-half stoppage time. Two days later, it was announced that Hobbs would miss the rest of