Nine players were absent from Middlesbrough’s Saturday loss to Ipswich Town, and they will visit Hull City on Wednesday.
When Middlesbrough plays Hull City on Wednesday night at the Riverside, Michael Carrick doesn’t anticipate any injured players returning, but he is at least optimistic that the healthy players emerged from the weekend’s loss unscathed.
Due to a string of unfortunate injuries, Boro was without nine first-team players for Saturday’s match against Ipswich Town. The return of banned players Isaiah Jones and Anfernee Dijksteel will at least increase Carrick’s options when they play Hull on Wednesday, a team in the top six.
After the weekend, we appear to be doing good, Carrick stated, providing an update on his team. Since there has always been something lurking around the corner, I try not to get too carried away at the time.
“But as things stand, we’re not too bad, and Izzy and Anf’s return from suspension obviously strengthens the group.” Though I doubt it, we’ll get any others back. We’ll probably keep on as we are, which is OK. Our squad that played on Saturday was a strong squad.
Because of wavelengths and new collaborations, we always need to make a few modifications here and there, which does affect consistency. However, together, we possess sufficient quality to win any game, so we’re excited for Wednesday night.
The Hull game will pit two top-six hopefuls against one another, with both looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats. Liam Rosenior’s side lost to QPR on Saturday and that result left them eighth in the table, three points better off than Boro.
It is therefore an excellent opportunity for Carrick’s side to boost their top-six credentials, though they are missing so many key men right now. The majority are still at least a few weeks away from returning, though Riley McGree’s is a little more uncertain given the nature of his plantar fasciitis issue, which was doing well on last update but can quickly flare up and set him back.
Another player close to a return is Hayden Hackney, with Carrick not expecting the groin injury that’s kept him out of Boro’s last three to be a long-term issue. He said: “We’re hoping Hayden will be back before Christmas. It’s definitely not long-term. There are a few of them, but it is what it is.”
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