The 6 players set to miss Birmingham City v Middlesbrough ft £3m defender | OneFootball

There are a handful of players set to miss Saturday's match at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park

Birmingham City and Middlesbrough will do battle this weekend at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park in their final competitive action for a three-week period.

Blues and Boro have started the Championship season in similar fashions, having only lost one game each, although Kim Hellberg's side are currently seven places and four points ahead of Chris Davies' men.

The two clubs are amongst the most ambitious in the division, which has been proven by recent transfer spends, and they are expected to be in the promotion picture come the end of the campaign.

It was Middlesbrough who enjoyed the better of this fixture last season, winning 2-1 at the Riverside Stadium on November 8th, before leaving the West Midlands with a 3-1 success back on March 2nd.

However, with three points crucial for momentum ahead of the drawn-out international break, Davies and Hellberg will be hoping their star performers can swing the pendulum in their favour.

But, with that being said, there are a handful of players from the two squads who will play no part, and Football League World have looked at all five's respective situations.

Birmingham City

Taylor Gardner-Hickman

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The first of four Birmingham absentees is Taylor Gardner-Hickman.

The versatile 24-year-old spent last season on loan with divisional rivals, Blackburn Rovers, after initially turning his move to St. Andrew's permanent from Bristol City.

But after being involved in the opening weeks of Davies' pre-season plans, the midfielder sustained an unspecified injury against Burton Albion.

However, it is hoped his return to fitness comes during the international break.

Marc Leonard

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Marc Leonard has endured a frustrating 12-month period on the whole, and he is currently sidelined with a ruptured achilles.

As such, the Scotsman has been omitted from Davies' 25-man squad until at least January as he recovers, after spending the second half of last season on loan at Hearts.

Upon his return to Tynecastle Park, Leonard was an instant hit and was expected to permanently leave Blues this summer, but his injury woes put pay to those developments coming to fruition.

Max Bird

One-time Birmingham academy player, Max Bird, sealed a return to B9 this summer from Bristol City, but has been absent since the opening day draw at Sheffield United with a lower-leg injury.

Davies will therefore be hoping the 25-year-old can show exactly why his signature was courted, and it is hoped he will also be available for the trip to West Bromwich Albion in early October.

Demarai Gray

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Demarai Gray has endured a frustrating individual start to the season, with his only start coming against Wrexham on August 28th, although he did also net a 95th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot against Bristol City.

However, after being absent from the encounters with Norwich and Derby through illness, this particular fixture has also come too soon in terms of a return for the experienced winger.

"Demarai is still not quite right," said Davies in his pre-match press conference.

Scott Wright

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The final man absent from the upcoming clash for Birmingham is Scott Wright, who, like Leonard, has been omitted from Davies' current squad selection.

Despite being involved in the EFL Cup win over Swansea City on August 8th and making the bench for the 2-1 win at Wrexham three weeks later, the Scottish winger was expected to find a new club ahead of Deadline Day, but such circumstances never occurred.

The 29-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan with Dundee FC, having found it hard to source gametime in B9 after recovering from a serious injury in February 2025.

Middlesbrough

Alfie Jones

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The only player who appears guaranteed to miss this particular fixture for Middlesbrough is Canadian international centre-back, Alfie Jones.

The £3m signing of last summer has seen his first year on Teesside plagued by injury issues, and he was forced off at half-time in the 4-3 win over Norwich City with a calf issue.

Having missed the draw with Millwall on Tuesday, it has been reported that the 28-year-old is likely to be back available after the international break.