Steve Gibson needs to take control of Middlesbrough and make a tough call.
Michael Carrick arrived at the Riverside Stadium in October 2022 and enjoyed a prolific debut campaign.
Middlesbrough finished fourth in the Championship that season despite their horrific start under Chris Wilder.
After making it to the playoffs in 2022/23, Boro were expected to once again be in the promotion race last season.
However, when all was said and done, the Teessiders ended the campaign in eighth place, four points off the top six.
There were a couple of reasons for this, including key players like Chuba Akpom and Ryan Giles departing in the summer of 2023.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Middlesbrough’s decline in form, though, was their persistent injury issues.
Carrick did not have a fully fit squad at any point in the season, with an average of 6.5 players missing per match.
Middlesbrough have concerning injury record this season
When their 2024 pre-season began, Boro appeared to have got their injury crisis under control.
Marcus Forss and Tommy Smith remained long-term absentees from issues picked up in the previous campaign but for the most part, Boro’s squad was in a much healthier state.
However, with only three games of 2024/25 played, Middlesbrough are once again dealing with a depleted squad.
Smith and Forss remain out but there are another eight players who have suffered injuries over the last month or so.
Dael Fry, Darragh Lenihan, Riley McGree, Jonny Howson, Alex Bangura, Law McCabe and Sonny Finch all missed out when Middlesbrough lost 1-0 versus Derby County.
Rav van den Berg also picked up an issue in that game and is now a doubt to take on Portsmouth this weekend.
Steve Gibson must overrule Michael Carrick
After suffering so many injuries last term, Carrick conducted a review at the end of April earlier this year.
But after analysing the injuries Boro suffered and the high amount of impact injuries, Carrick made it clear he did not see any problem.
When asked if there was anything he learned from the review and if he might consider making some changes, the Boro boss made his stance clear, as per Teesside Live.
He said: “Not really. I think there’s been such a wide range of injuries that we’ve suffered this season. We haven’t changed training one bit from what we had last season, in terms of style, strategy or the things we do and when we do them.
“So I’m not brushing it under the carpet by any means, but there is only so much you can do.
“We are confident moving forward we’ll have the right ingredients to keep more on the pitch. But sometimes the game moves and has certain trends in general and it’s not always easy or ideal. We’ve just got to try and be realistic.”
Carrick’s stance has already cost Middlesbrough this season, who now face the prospect of taking on Portsmouth with Matt Clarke as their only fit centre-back.
And with the former midfielder seemingly not willing to change his approach, Steve Gibson must now step in an overrule him.
Whether that be via changes to the medical staff, changes to training, or something else remains to be seen. But it is glaringly obvious Middlesbrough need to do something about all of their injury problems.