Steve Bruce's men became the first side to suffer a top-flight defeat to Burnley this season in their final match before the international break.
The Hull manager described the display at Turf Moor as the worst since City's promotion from the Championship in 2013, but he will be boosted by the return of experienced defender Dawson for Sunday's visit of Spurs.
Dawson, who spent almost a decade at White Hart Lane, has been out with an ankle injury since the middle of October and is set to come back into a side in desperate need of a tonic to their 1-0 reverse at Burnley.
Bruce said: "We've had to wait nearly two weeks and the frustration is the one thing you want to do is go back on the training ground and work on the things you didn't do.
"It's always disappointing to have a result like we had. We've set ourselves certain standards and against Burnley we have to admit we were woefully short.
"The one thing you need now is a response."
Dawson is joined in the Hull squad by fellow ex-Spurs players Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore, who will be keen to make an impression against their former club, while Andrew Robertson can take heart from scoring his first international goal in Scotland's 3-1 defeat to England on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Allan McGregor (shoulder) and forward Nikica Jelavic (knee) are also in line to feature for the hosts after training all week.
Tottenham have had to be patient as well over the last fortnight, after a 2-1 home defeat to Stoke City sent them into the international break in the bottom half of the table.
Mauricio Pochettino's side have lost three of their last four league matches and questions are starting to be asked of the former Southampton boss.
Dawson has urged the London club to give Pochettino time to make his mark, but the pressure for results is growing and full-back Eric Dier wants his side to focus on building on solid foundations.
"A clean sheet is a priority in every game so hopefully we can secure one at Hull," he told the club's official website.
"We need to build some momentum and rhythm. Obviously the last result was a while ago but it's still fresh in everyone's minds, so we just want to get back to winning ways."
Andros Townsend was withdrawn from England duty with an ankle injury, but he has not been ruled out this weekend, while fellow winger Aaron Lennon (hamstring) could also return.
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