Middlesbrough may be forced to reshuffle the pack for tonight’s Carabao Cup game at Exeter, with defender Matt Clarke, who has not played for the club since October 2022, in line to feature.
It is unclear as to whether he will start or feature from the bench, but the left-footed centre-back has been training with the first team after returning from injury and has had a number of outings for the Under 21 side to gain some sharpness and should be ready if called upon.
It comes at a time when Boro are feeling the strain with injuries to several defensive first team players. Lewis O’Brien and Tommy Smith have endured long-term injury set-backs of late, with Darragh Lenihan also joining the list of absentees in recent weeks.
During his pre-match Exeter presser, aired on the club website, Carrick was asked about the availability of former Brighton man Clarke, he said, “There’s every chance he could feature, yeah.
“We’ll have to see how much obviously and assess that but yeah, he’s in and around the group, as I’ve said, we are patient with him and there are steps to be taken, but at the same time, he’s trained with us for a good number of weeks now and he is part of the group.”
Cup game could provide perfect opportunity
Given the amount of time Clarke has had out, it could be an ideal opportunity to see where the defender is in terms of match sharpness ahead of what promises to be a hectic schedule, particularly if Boro make it through to the last eight of the cup.
McNair and Fry have been the centre-back pairing for the last five or six games, and have generally performed well, but there was a jaded look to the defensive unit against Stoke City, who bulldozed their way to a 2-0 victory against a Boro side that looked uncharacteristically devoid of energy and ideas.
Fry and McNair were not the only below-par performers, but it would be a real boost if Boro could get Clarke back to a level that saw fans waxing lyrical after his debut display against Swansea last season.
There is also the added caveat that Clarke is left-footed, and whilst it is not always essential, it certainly can help the centre-back/left-back relationship if the centre-back is left-footed. It would be interesting to see Carrick’s stance on that if Clarke got fully fit.
But at this point, it is small steps, and that starts with Matt Clarke coming through this game unscathed in what would be another check point in his rehabilitation ticked off.