Michael Carrick reveals two Middlesbrough injury blows ahead of Leeds United clash

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has issued an early team news update ahead of his side's trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Saturday. The Whites face a quick turnaround this week, welcoming one of the early-season promotion favourites Boro after their clash with Swansea City on Wednesday night.

Leeds passed their Swansea test on Wednesday, but Boro have an extra day of rest after defeating Preston comfortably at home on Tuesday night. Carrick's men moved up to 11th after their 4-0 win, but they did not come through the clash unscathed. Both Dael Fry and Hayden Hackney both picked up fresh concerns, and they look unlikely to feature against Leeds this weekend.

"They both felt niggles towards the end of the game on Saturday - Hayden in his groin, Dael his hamstring," said Carrick after the game, as reported by Teesside Live. "It was just the last couple of days, so we’re still assessing the severity of both at the moment to see where they’re at.

"It tends to be the way it’s going at the minute. We’ve got eight senior lads out tonight which is the makings of a pretty good team in itself.

"But that’s just the way it and it’s why we have the squad that we have. We can’t make excuses we’ve just got to make the most of it, and to be fair, the boys cracked on with it tonight, and we’ll prepare again and do our best for Saturday."

Boro have a whole host of injuries currently, with Riley McGree, Marcus Forss, Darragh Lenihan, Thomas Smith and Lewis O'Brien all sidelined, while the Fry and Hackney could now be added to that list. Boro were fancied for promotion this season having enjoyed a superb end to their last campaign, but injuries have hamstrung their efforts so far. Still, they are only three points off the top six as things stand.