Middlesbrough could face a depleted Leicester City side on Saturday with as many as four players absent through injury.
Of course, as Michael Carrick will testify, Boro have had to endure their own injury concerns this season, with first team players Riley McGree, Tommy Smith and Darragh Lenihan all still missing through injury.
According to Leicestershire Live, the Foxes will be without influential midfielder Wilfried Ndidi who will be sidelined until after the international break. He joins absentees Dennis Praet and Callum Doyle, with Turkish international Yunus Akgun another who could potentially miss out having suffered a muscle tear last week.
The absence of Ndidi in particular will be felt by the midlands outfit, with the Nigerian enjoying a role with more midfield freedom this season.
As well as these potential casualties, Leicester also have a number of players who are walking a disciplinary tightrope, with four players all one booking away from a suspension.
Harry Winks, Kieranan Dewsbury-Hall, Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu all sit on four yellow cards, a fifth would mean a one game suspension. Middlesbrough have two players on four yellows, with Isaiah Jones and Matt Crooks looking over their shoulder. Hayden Hackney has already served a suspension for reaching five bookings.
No fresh concerns for Boro
Middlesbrough have no fresh injury worries to report from their thrilling 3-3 draw with Plymouth Argyle and Carrick could be tempted to go unchanged. The only change that may tempt Carrick is Anfernee Dijksteel for Rav van den Berg, purely because of Dijksteel’s athleticism against the pace of players like Stephy Mavididi.
Emannuel Latte Lath, Morgan Rogers and Sami Silvera have all had a positive impact from the bench in recent weeks and will hope for more starts, but with the forward line of Sam Greenwood, Matt Crooks, Isaiah Jones and Josh Coburn all performing well, Carrick may prefer to continue utilising them as substitutes who can effect the game later in the contest.
Former Boro target could start
One player who could feature for Leicester is forward Tom Cannon. The striker who signed from Everton has been out injured with a stress fracture but has trained recently. The Leeds game last week came a little early, but the encounter against Boro could be the ideal opportunity for him to get minutes on the pitch.
Of course Middlesbrough know all about Cannon, the 20-year-old Irishman was linked with a move to the Riverside but after choosing to join the Foxes, Michael Carrick decided against loaning out one of his own young strikers in Josh Coburn, instead making him his first choice number nine. The Richmond striker has taken his opportunity and will be desperate to justify the show of faith from his boss once again this weekend.
Seven draws and seven losses are what Boro have to show for their last fourteen meetings with the Foxes. It makes for disappointing reading, and as the Teessiders languish 18 points and 11 places behind the Championship favourites, they will undoubtedly have to be at their best if they hope to topple the former Premier League winners.
One thing that you can be sure of, is that Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough will not shut up shop and just defend. They will play and attack in the hope of winning the game. It promises to be an entertaining game with two of the division’s free-scoring teams.