What Rob Edwards said about Middlesbrough injury situation as issues pile up before Portsmouth | OneFootball

The league leaders have endured mixed fortunes on the injury front of late.

Middlesbrough head coach Rob Edwards has issued a contrasting update on his side's injury front as the Teesside outfit now prepare for a long trip down to Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon.

Boro have, unexpectedly, become the early-season pacesetters in the Championship in the early weeks of the 42-year-old's tenure at the Riverside Stadium, as they still lead the division heading into their ninth fixture of the campaign this weekend.

Edwards' men were held to a point for a second-straight encounter on Tuesday night though, although a goalless draw against fellow fast starters Stoke City could still be a vital step in the right direction for Middlesbrough come the end of the season.

However, with the current schedule prior to the October international break representing the first three-game week of the gruelling 46-game schedule provided in the second tier, the ex-Luton Town boss has revealed how the mixed fortunes of a handful of players among his defensive ranks looks set to influence his team and squad selection when the encounter at Fratton Park comes around.

Rob Edwards issues contrasting Middlesbrough injury update for George Edmundson, Dael Fry & Callum Brittain

The first player in question was centre-back George Edmundson, who, for the second successive encounter at the Riverside, was forced off in the first half with injury misfortune.

After suffering a blow to the eye in the recent 2-1 home win over West Bromwich Albion, the former Ipswich Town defender was forced off after just seven minutes with a hamstring issue, subsequently being replaced by Sammy Silvera.

As such, Edwards expects the 28-year-old to miss Saturday's trip to the South Coast, although the extent of his latest injury setback is yet to be revealed.

"After a minute he passed the ball and felt his hamstring," the Middlesbrough boss said via The Northern Echo.

"It's not ideal. The last couple of home games he's had to come off in the first half, so that throws us a bit.

“George has been doing great. Like anyone, if they just can’t quite find the rhythm to churn out the 90 minutes consistently it’s really frustrating for all of us. He’s really down in there at the moment," he added.

Dael Fry's predicament was also assessed by Edwards post-match, with the Middlesbrough stalwart returning to the matchday squad after a three-game absence through a calf issue.

However, the Reds' head coach felt it was the right call to give the centre-back just a 10-minute substitute cameo late in the game rather than instantly make a natural substitution with the aforementioned Edmundson.

“If we’d used Dael at that point, I could have been bringing him off again," Edwards explained.

"We said with Dael, 20 minutes max to introduce him back into it. It would have been too much of an ask [to do more].

“I think this will be a good thing for him tonight, getting him those minutes. As long as we get the next few days right, I don’t see any reason why he won’t be involved again, and hopefully Britts (Callum Brittain) will be back with us as well, because it does look like George will be missing, unfortunately. Let’s see."

One man who missed the midweek stalemate was the impressive summer recruit, Brittain, who suffered a foot injury in the 1-1 draw at Southampton last weekend.

However, Edwards hopes to welcome the man who has made an instant impression at the Riverside back into the fold when they travel to Saints' bitter rivals for their next second tier fixture.

"He tried and we tried to give it as long as possible, even up to today to be involved, but it would have been too much of a risk.

"It's just the swelling and it would have been too sore with his boot on, so we're really hopeful and positive for the weekend," he added.

It is a collective and individual blow that Edmundson looks set to miss the trip to Fratton Park for the league leaders, with the ever-reliable defender unable to gain the same momentum as his teammates in recent weeks, having suffered two injury blows.

However, it will undoubtedly please Edwards that the aforementioned Silvera was able to perform admirably in an unnatural right-back role against the Potters, whilst Luke Ayling, Alfie Jones and Matt Targett remained unaffected by such a decision.

If available, Brittain would most likely slot in at right-back after an impressive start to the season, whilst having Fry on the pitch for an even longer period of time on Saturday would also be seen as a major plus-point.

As such, the Reds will still fancy their chances of extending an unbeaten start well into October, although Pompey are so often a tough nut to crack on home turf.