Michael Carrick gave updates regarding the fitness of two of his forwards in his pre-match press conference before the visit to Coventry.
A flurry of transfer activity has swirled around the Riverside in recent days, with Chuba Akpom once again dominating the talk of Teesside.
The Boro boss said during his presser on the club’s website, that last season’s top scorer Akpom, and youngster Josh Coburn will not be starting against Coventry, with the game coming too early in their rehibilitation.
Answering the question of how near both strikers are to being able to start a game, he said, “They won’t start, no. They’ve not had enough training to be honest. They have both missed quite a lot and we are building it up.
“It’s not the time of year to be pushing, pushing, pushing. If it was the end of the season, if it was the last game it would be different, if it was the first game of the season, again it’s very different. Nevertheless, they are pushing hard to be fit as soon as the boys can.”
Club decision
As talk rumbles on about the potential sale of one of Boro’s most valuable assets, Carrick insisted that the decision on whether to sell or not is a club matter as opposed to an individual decision. Asked if it is only down to Steve Gibson, Neil Bausor and Kieran Scott, he replied, “No, it’s a club (decision) on any decision really, the club are all in it together, regardless of who it is about.
“If it is about what is best for the first team squad all the time, then I am always involved in that decision. That is kind of how it works.”
If indeed it transpires that Carrick will not be able to call upon the services of Akpom after the August transfer window, he will be hoping that the club have managed to bring in some extra firepower. They are currently exploring the possibility of bringing in Emmanuel Latte Lath from Italian side Atalanta.
That may have an impact on whether young forward Josh Coburn stays at the club or goes out on loan, and although the head coach would not be drawn on what the club will do with Coburn, he insisted that there is a plan in place. “We have definitely got a clear idea on what the plan is for Josh and what we want it to look like. There is a couple of if’s and but’s in that, as you would expect at this stage.”
Carrick insists though, that he is ‘upbeat now’ with the squad he has at his disposal, but he will surely have a bigger pool of players to pick from come the end of August.