Hayden Hackney Ruled Out For Middlesbrough Wrexham Games Trip

Middlesbrough will go into their wrexham games trip to Wrexham without Hayden Hackney, who is out with a calf injury. The 23-year-old had played in all 38 of their Championship matches before going off against Bristol City on 14 March, and his absence has come as the club still chases automatic promotion.

Hackney And Middlesbrough

Hackney has not featured since that Bristol City game, and Middlesbrough have felt the loss. Without him, they have dropped from second to fourth and won only two of the seven games he has missed.

The midfielder was named the Championship’s player of the season at the EFL Awards earlier this month, which makes his absence at the final hurdle more pointed. Middlesbrough are one of three teams still in the running to go up behind champions Coventry City, and they need a win in north Wales plus results elsewhere to take second place.

Hellberg On The Margin

Kim Hellberg did not dress up the task. “There's always pressure to try to win the game,” he said. “You cannot control what other teams are doing, you have to see what happens.”

He added: “In that way, it feels more like a possibility than something else.” Opta have given Middlesbrough a 2.2% chance of finishing second, which shows how narrow the route is even before the kick-off at Wrexham.

McGree And The Play-Off Route

Riley McGree is in contention to play at Wrexham after missing the past three matches, giving Middlesbrough at least one possible boost. If they do end up in the play-offs, Hackney’s status would carry into the two-legged semi-finals, which are scheduled for 8, 9, 11 and 12 May.

That leaves Middlesbrough with a straight final-day calculation: win in north Wales, hope Ipswich Town lose, and hope Millwall fail to win. Hackney’s absence has been part of the drop from second to fourth, and Boro now have one match left to reverse that slide.