season owing to a hip injury and his recovery was aided by visits to Bayern Munich doctor Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt and American hip surgeon Marc Phillipon. He returned to first team action in February 2006, scoring his first and only Premier League goal in March 2006, away to Manchester City, in a season that saw Sunderland relegated on a then-record low points tally. Coventry City Kyle then joined Coventry City on 25 August 2006 for £600,000, but only went on to score three goals during the campaign. He scored just two more. Out of favour with the Sky Blues and despised by their fans, he traded a relegation battle with Coventry for a promotion push with a loan to fellow Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers during the latter half of the 2007–08 season, reuniting him with his former Sunderland boss Mick McCarthy. He made 13 appearances, nine as substitute, scoring once against Crystal Palace. While Wolves finished seventh, outside the play-offs, his move was not made permanent as Kyle said he would rather return to Coventry, who finished a point clear of the relegation positions in 21st, in the summer. After failing to feature at all during the opening stages of the next season for his parent club, he joined Hartlepool United on a month's loan on 1 October 2008. The loan was later extended until the end of the year, and Kyle scored five goals in 15 starts. Kilmarnock On 27 January 2009, Coventry announced that they had reached an agreement with Kyle over the remaining six months of his contract, and he had left the club by mutual consent. Two days later, he signed for Kilmarnock on an 18-month contract. On 31 January 2009 he scored a headed goal on his debut for Kilmarnock against St Mirren and this goal was also the first at the new St Mirren Park. On 11 April he scored all three goals, his first ever professional hat-trick, in a 3–0 victory against Falkirk for which he received a standing ovation when he was substituted. Kyle was praised for his part in keeping Killie in the SPL that season. In the games following the 2008–2009 season Scottish Premier League split, Kyle scored all of Kilmarnock's goals in a draw with Falkirk and victories against St Mirren and Inverness Caledonian Thistle thus helping the team secure 8th place and SPL survival. He scored eight goals in