Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick has confirmed that summer signing Lewis O’Brien could be sidelined for the rest of the year after coming off early during Saturday’s win away at Watford.
O’Brien had a torrid time over the past twelve months, having hardly played for Nottingham Forest last term and being left out of manager Steve Cooper’s registered squad for the rest of the 2022/23 season.
A failed loan move in January to Blackburn Rovers put a further dampener on O’Brien’s future but, in March, the former Huddersfield Town man eventually earned a temporary transfer to Wayne Rooney’s DC United for the remainder of the campaign.
Subsequently, the 24-year-old joined up with Rooney’s old Manchester United teammate, Michael Carrick, at Middlesbrough on loan and O’Brien has become a vital player for Boro in recent weeks.
Having started the season desperately, Middlesbrough are on a three-game win streak and were most recently victorious on Tuesday night in a 2-0 home victory against Cardiff City. Nevertheless, O’Brien was a notable absentee from the squad.
The ex-Bradford City loanee started at left-back for Boro on Saturday but was replaced in the 36th minute by veteran Tommy Smith. Carrick has issued an update on O’Brien’s injury and it’s not looking good for the North-East club.
Speaking after the win against Cardiff, the Boro boss said [quotes via the Sunderland Echo]:
“He won’t be back anytime soon.
“It will be a good few weeks, if not longer. He has specialists and surgeons to see, so we’ll keep you updated.”
Writer’s View
This is a big blow for Boro after what has been an excellent few weeks for Michael Carrick’s men as the team are rapidly surging back up the table following a dismal start to the campaign.
Middlesbrough have been hit with unfortunate injuries this season already and have now lost O’Brien potentially until Christmas. However, if Lukas Engel continues to play as well as he did on Tuesday against the Bluebirds, O’Brien’s loss may not be as impactful as once feared.
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