6 players set to miss Hull City v Middlesbrough play-off final | OneFootball

FLW looks at the players not set to take part in Saturday's final at Wembley Stadium

This weekend sees Wembley Stadium play host to the Championship, League One and League Two play-off finals over three successive days.

As has so often been the case, it is the second tier's two sides that will kickstart proceedings in North London, with Hull City and Middlesbrough now left to fight it out for a place in the Premier League.

The Tigers overcame Millwall in their two-legged semi-final, with a 2-0 success at The Den after a goalless draw proving decisive, whilst the outcome of the well-documented 'spygate' scandal involving themselves and Southampton saw Kim Hellberg's side reinstated to the play-offs after Saints' expulsion, as well as a four-point deduction for next term, was upheld by a league arbitration panel on the night of Wednesday, May 20th.

Saturday's final, due to the constant uncertainty, had been given an initial 4:30PM kick-off time if Hull were to take on Saints, but that has now changed to 3:30 as they prepare to take on the men from Teesside instead.

With so much on the line, including at least £200m in prize funds, it will be no surprise to see all the players in Sergej Jakirovic's and Hellberg's teams training with maximum intent in the lead-up to earn a place in their respective 20-man matchday squads.

However, some will be less fortunate, and Football League World have looked at the players who are likely to play no part in proceedings on the pitch.

Hull City

Eliot Matazo

While Hull have enjoyed a remarkable upturn in fortunes, that has coincided with the unfortunate tale of Belgian midfielder, Eliot Matazo, who was signed from AS Monaco for £3m last January.

Despite impressing in a handful of matches under Ruben Selles, the midfielder suffered an ACL injury to his left knee against Cardiff City in February 2025, and had suffered a multitude of issues in recovery, despite being named in a matchday squad versus Millwall in March.

After another setback days later in the warm-up to an Under-21s game against Sheffield United, the 24-year-old returned to the bench as an unused substitute in draws against Birmingham City and Leicester City, before being placed in the starting lineup at Charlton Athletic three days later.

Unfortunately, Matazo's first start in 14 months was curtailed after 11 minutes, with it later emerging that he'd suffered the same ACL injury, this time in his right knee, thus sidelining him for another lengthy period.

Toby Collyer

In the lead-up to Saturday's final, it was reported that all of Cody Drameh, Amir Hadziahmetovic and Toby Collyer could all return to training and potentially play a part in the final.

However, the Manchester United loanee has been the unfortunate individual out of the trio, with Jakirovic confirming in his pre-match press conference that his season, in terms of minutes, was over.

The 22-year-old's two loan spells with City and West Bromwich Albion this term have been ravaged by fitness issues, although he is likely to be supporting his loan club from the stands.

Kyle Joseph

Kyle Joseph will also miss the showpiece event after going off in the last minutes of the first half at The Den following a strong challenge from Millwall winger, Thierno Ballo.

The 24-year-old picked up a serious ankle injury in the process, somewhat restricting Jakirovic's attacking options as it has since been confirmed he may be on the recovery trail for a 10-week period, which even runs into the beginning of the 2026/27 campaign regardless of City's divisional status.

Joseph was seen celebrating with his teammates at full-time with a protective boot, and even though the influential Mohamed Belloumi, who scored and assisted Joe Gelhardt's crucial second in SE16, City supporters will be extremely gutted that the eight-goal forward will have to watch on from the stands.

Middlesbrough

Alfie Jones

10 months ago, Alfie Jones swapped the MKM Stadium for the Riverside in a deal reportedly worth around £3m. However, the centre-back is one of those set to miss the play-off final.

The 28-year-old had a remarkable start to his Middlesbrough career in terms of performance levels at the heart of defence under Hellberg and his predecessor, Rob Edwards, but sustained a serious ankle injury against Blackburn Rovers in December before undergoing surgery.

Last month, it was reported that Jones was expected to miss the remainder of the season, and he could also unfortunately miss out on a place in Canada's World Cup squad, with the country also being a host nation.

Alex Bangura

Alex Bangura's season has also been injury-hit, and it has been claimed that, at best, the Sierra Leone international would be settling for a place on the bench.

The full-back missed both play-off semi-finals against Saints, having battled against fitness complications since being substituted 34 minutes into the 2-2 draw at Swansea City on Easter Monday, shortly after an emphatic goal of his own too.

However, there is also a very slight chance of a matchday squad involvement, according to reports.

Tommy Conway

A guaranteed absentee though is the extremely unfortunate Tommy Conway, who left the St Mary's pitch in tears after suffering an ankle injury in the second half.

The Scotland international is set to undergo surgery on the issue, and, as a result, wasn't selected in Steve Clarke's squad for the World Cup after scoring 13 times while playing in all 46 regular-season games this term.

Speaking on the 23-year-old's absence in his pre-match press conference, Hellberg said: "We've lost one player that's been a regular starter for us, to be fair, one of our best players, in the last 5 or 6 games, has been absolutely unbelievable, adds that running quality from the left and has been doing so many good things, so I feel for him.

"He's been fantastic to me, to the team, to the supporters how he fights for this club," the Swede added.