Middlesbrough's Kim Hellberg reveals if Hayden Hackney is fit enough to play v Ipswich Town | OneFootball

Middlesbrough duo Hayden Hackney and Jeremy Sarmiento could miss Boro's key clash with Ipswich Town.

Middlesbrough's chances of defeating automatic promotion rivals Ipswich Town in the Championship on Sunday have already taken a dent.

Boro sit fifth in the second tier, three points adrift of second-place Ipswich, and desperately need a victory to reinstall their chances of finishing above the play-off places.

Kim Hellberg's men are winless in their last six Championship encounters, and haven't tasted victory since their 4-0 triumph over Queens Park Rangers on 8 March.

Meanwhile, the Tractor Boys remain second, even though they were beaten 2-0 by relegation-threatened Portsmouth on Tuesday.

Middlesbrough duo could miss key clash with Ipswich Town

Ipswich still have a game in hand over fellow top-two hopefuls Millwall, Southampton, and Middlesbrough, which could prove decisive in the race for an automatic spot in next season's Premier League, alongside Championship leaders Coventry City.

Meanwhile, Sunday's clash between Boro and the Tractor Boys may also set the tone for how both sides will perform in the rest of their run-in.

Middlesbrough's lack of form in recent weeks has partly been down to the fact that star man Hayden Hackney hasn't featured since their 1-1 draw with Bristol City, thanks to an injury.

As reported by the East Anglian Daily Times, when discussing Hackney's injury, Hellberg said: "It gets better but not as quick as we wanted.

"I thought (he would be back for) the Millwall game, so I still hope and think that, (he will be fit before the end of the season) but it goes a bit slower than we thought."

Those comments indicate that the midfielder, who has scored five goals and produced seven assists in the Championship this season, will remain sidelined for Boro's clash with Ipswich.

Meanwhile, the East Anglian Daily Times also report that fellow Middlesbrough star Jeremy Sarmiento is a doubt for Sunday's game, having suffered a knee injury when his side lost 1-0 to Portsmouth last Saturday.

Sarmiento has failed to produce a goal or an assist in 13 Championship appearances since joining Boro on loan from Brighton in January.

However, the winger's absence is still a blow for Hellberg, as he is a player who knows exactly what it takes to clinch promotion from the second tier to the Premier League, having achieved that feat with both Burnley and Ipswich in the last two seasons.

The Tractor Boys may be relieved if their former promotion winner can't come back to haunt them at Portman Road this weekend.

Ipswich Town defeat would be final blow to Middlesbrough's automatic promotion hopes

Middlesbrough have been in woeful form in recent weeks, and the fact that they are still just three points adrift of Ipswich is indicative of the fact that they were a class act for large chunks of the season.

Boro even briefly led Coventry in the Championship title race before being beaten 3-1 by the Sky Blues at the CBS Arena on 16 February.

However, only a matter of time now stands between Frank Lampard's men and the second-tier title, while Hellberg's side are left staring at the prospect of finishing in the play-offs, rather than in the top two.

If Middlesbrough are beaten by Ipswich at Portman Road on Sunday, they would be left six points adrift of the automatic promotion places with just three games remaining, which would surely prove fatal to their top-two chances, especially considering the fact that the Tractor Boys have a game in hand.