Kim Hellberg drops Middlesbrough player update - 'I feel very sorry for him' | OneFootball

Middlesbrough defender Alex Bangura has suffered another devastating injury blow

Middlesbrough lost ground yet again in the hunt for automatic promotion with a 2-2 draw away to Swansea City, and Hellberg has issued a sombre injury update following the result.

Middlesbrough's hopes of automatic promotion are slipping through their fingers with each passing game week, having once again dropped points on Monday, with a 2-2 draw away to Swansea.

This means that Boro are winless in their last five outings, picking up only three points from a possible 15, with their hopes of securing a return to the Premier League taking a huge hit as a result.

Alex Bangura's rasping effort gave Kim Hellberg's side an early lead, but less than ten minutes later, the left-back was involved in the challenge which allowed Zan Vipotnik to level things from the penalty spot, before the Slovenian once again converted from 12 yards just before half-time to give the Welsh side the lead.

Tommy Conway levelled things up with a penalty of his own in the 75th minute, but Boro were unable to find a winner, and following the clash, Hellberg provided an update on an injury that was sustained within the first half.

Alex Bangura was forced off with another injury setback in the draw against Swansea City, as Kim Hellberg provides an update

Left-back Bangura, who opened the scoring against Swansea and was involved in the first penalty incident, was forced off with an injury in the 34th minute, in what is yet another blow in a long spell of rotten luck for the 26-year-old.

Since joining Boro in the summer of 2023 under Michael Carrick, Bangura has had a torrid time of injuries, having made fewer than 30 appearances across all competitions since his arrival nearly three years ago.

Stepping in for the injured Matt Targett, Bangura was once again taken off in the first half after going down off the ball, which looked to be another muscle injury.

When asked about the injury, Hellberg said, "It’s too early to say. Of course he is distraught. You go out after being injured, you go back and do those 25 minutes, you're looking like a Roberto Carlos left-back again and it’s tough.

"I feel very sorry for him. He’s a brilliant boy and a brilliant footballer. Hopefully it’s not that bad."

The Swedish boss was not able to provide a definitive answer on the severity of Bangura's injury, though, with just five games to play of the regular Championship season, whether we see the Sierra Leonean grace the field again this campaign looks to be doubtful.

It's certainly a far from ideal scenario for both Bangura and Middlesbrough, who will be holding their breath as they await the results on the defender's injury.

Alex Bangura has had a wretched time with injuries since joining Middlesbrough

Few players will have had much more rotten luck over the past three years than Bangura.

The first of a long line of injuries came in January 2024 against Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final, sustaining a leg injury which ruled him out for three months.

He'd suffer Achilles tendon issues throughout the rest of 2024 and then leading into 2025, missing the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign as a whole.

Then, a hamstring injury ruled the left-back out for the first part of this season, before a fresh muscle injury meant he would spend another three months in the treatment room between January and March.

Now, just three games in after returning, Bangura looks to be out once again, with the Sierra Leone international unable to catch a break.

Boro could have certainly done with his energy and dynamism in the final run-in, but now, it looks like they will have to do without, as the race for automatic promotion looks like it will head down to the wire.