The 3 players set to miss Middlesbrough vs West Brom ft Derby-linked star | OneFootball

These three players won't be available for a big early-season clash between Middlesbrough and West Brom

West Brom's bid to win their first three games of a league campaign since the 1997/98 campaign sees them travel to the Riverside to take on yet another pre-season promotion favourite in Middlesbrough.

The Baggies have been more than impressive under James Morrison in Championship action and even took Premier League side Newcastle United all the way in defeat in their EFL Cup tie on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Boro have been slow out of the blocks somewhat in league action, leaving it late to beat League One champions Lincoln City on the opening day before throwing away a lead and losing against Blackburn Rovers last weekend.

Kim Hellberg's side will be looking to use the momentum generated from their cup exploits at Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday to get back to winning ways against one of the immediate pace-setters, but these 3 players won't be playing a part.

Tommy Conway

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With Ashley Phillips making his Middlesbrough debut on Tuesday night at Doncaster and assisting the third goal, Kim Hellberg has close to a full-strength side to choose from.

Last season's second top scorer, Tommy Conway, is the only major absentee, as he continues to recover from the broken ankle he suffered in the play-off semi-final against Southampton, which ruled him out of the final and the World Cup with Scotland over the summer.

He'll still be on the sidelines for between one and three weeks.

Alex Bangura

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Alex Bangura has played just 27 times for Boro in the three seasons he's spent on Teesside due to major injury issues, including an Achilles injury which saw him miss the entire 2024/25 term.

The 27-year-old missed the entirety of pre-season and is yet to feature in any of Middlesbrough's four competitive games this year.

Mikey Johnston

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West Brom's absentee list is one of the shorter ones in the Championship. The Baggies were able to welcome back Tammer Bany from the bench against Newcastle on Wednesday, in what is just his ninth appearance for the club in the 18 months he's spent there.

Aune Heggebo is also set to return to action after his two-match suspension for "successfully deceiving a match official" was completed in the cup tie in midweek.

Mikey Johnston, however, will not return to action as he still recovers from the ankle setback he suffered in the first few games of the campaign. The Irishman has been linked with a move to Derby County in the past week, but his absence isn't to do with that.

Johnston missed almost the entirety of Morrison's caretaker stint in charge last season, suffering an ankle fracture in his first game against Oxford United in late February.