Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney has seen his career hampered by injury issues over the last year.
The Englishman has been on Boro’s books his entire career and Middlesbrough can repeat Hayden Hackney’s success with three of their newest academy starlets.
The Teessiders are not the biggest side in England but Steve Gibson has built an excellent youth system for the club.
Hackney is not there just yet, but he does have the potential to be one of Middlesbrough’s best academy graduates.
The midfielder made his senior debut for the North East outfit at 18 years of age during a 2-1 FA Cup defeat versus Brentford on January 9th, 2021.
Hackney has since become an important member of the first-team squad and has been a regular starter under current manager, Michael Carrick.
The 22-year-old has formed an excellent understanding with Jonny Howson in the centre of the park and was one of Boro’s standout performers in the previous campaign, including scoring the winner as Middlesbrough beat Chelsea in the League Cup semi-final.
Hayden Hackney opens up on injury issue
2023/24 was not all positive for the Redcar-born star, however, as his campaign was derailed early in 2024.
Hackney featured 21 times for Middlesbrough last time out, with the majority of those appearances coming in 2023.
The Englishman put in a number of superb displays and looked set to play a key role in Boro’s promotion push.
However, Middlesbrough ended the season in eighth place, in part due to Hackney’s absence.
His campaign was ended prematurely thanks to an ankle injury suffered at Preston North End on Valentine’s Day.
And now, as per Teesside Live, Hackney has opened up on his injury woes and claimed that the Middlesbrough players are ‘very positive’ about the season ahead.
He said: “It was tough last season with a few injuries that stopped me from playing, so it’s really good to be back out there at the Riverside. It builds the excitement for Saturday even more.
“It was hard because I’ve never really had injuries like that to keep me out for a while, so it was tough sitting and watching the boys and not being able to help them.
“It was a frustrating time but it’s behind me now and I just can’t wait now to get back out there and get going again.
“The boys are very positive about going into the new season. We’re very excited to get going on Saturday.”
Who will partner Hayden Hackney in Middlesbrough midfield
Hackney has now recovered from the aforementioned injury and played a key role in Boro’s pre-season schedule.
The midfielder scored an absolute screamer as Middlesbrough beat Doncaster Rovers 5-3 on July 27th.
He also started and impressed in their most recent win over SC Heerenveen on Saturday.
In turn, given his form pre-injury and this summer, Carrick is expected to start Hackney against Swansea City on August 10th.
But the Boro boss faces a big decision over who he will select alongside Hackney at the base of Middlesbrough’s midfield.
Club captain Jonny Howson is now 36 years of age, and 2024/25 is likely to be his last season at the Riverside.
The other option to partner Hackney is a new signing. Aidan Morris earned praise from a pundit after his showings in pre-season but his lack of experience in England may see him struggle early in the campaign.
As a result, Carrick is probably best served starting Howson and Hackney on August 10th and slowly embedding Morris into the team as the season progresses.