Middlesbrough team & injury news ahead of Doncaster cup tie

Middlesbrough team & injury news ahead of Doncaster cup tie



Boro are looking to build on their opening day victory over Swansea when they welcome League One Rovers to the Riverside on Tuesday night.

Edwards will tinker with his side but says he won’t make wholesale changes, with the likes of Law McCabe, Abdoulaye Kante, Neto Borges and Marcus Forss among those likely to come into the starting XI.

But making changes doesn’t mean Edwards isn’t taking the League Cup seriously, with the new head coach well aware of the club’s rich history in a competition they won in 2004 and reached the semi-finals of two seasons ago.

“I know what it means to supporters,” said Boro’s boss.

“We value every competition and we want to build momentum.

“That was the final message to the players today as we walked off the grass. We want to win every game we go into and this competition is no different.”

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Boro came through Saturday’s Championship opener unscathed but none of the players who missed the Swansea game are in contention to return tonight. There is, however, positive news on the injury front, with Finn Azaz and George Edmundson having resumed training.

“Finn and George both did the first couple of elements of some training today so they’re making good progress,” said Edwards, who says those who were on the bench on Saturday and come into the side tonight can be key figures this season.

“It won’t be wholesale changes but there will be a few.

“The team that starts the season is never a team that finishes it.

“We need a squad, everyone knows that. You need a squad and a group and it will never be the same players going again and again.”

Edwards was delighted with the physical efforts of his Boro players on Saturday, and obviously thrilled to have no fresh injury worries.

“That was a great, that was a big plus,” he said.

“The lads expended a lot of energy. It was a physical game. I was really, really pleased with our high intensity work and our sprints. “We were really high. Looking at all of the other Championship games and teams as well, the lads put a right shift in.

“Everyone came through unscathed which is really good.”

Doncaster won promotion to League One last season and have made a flying start to the campaign, winning their first two games.

Edwards said: “Grant [McCann] has done a really good job as he always does.

“What we’ve seen of them so far they’re a really aggressive pressing team man for man at times and looking to play forward early, get the ball wide and get numbers in the box.

“They made a lot of changes this time last year and still beat Hull, so there could be a lot of changes.

“It’s about what we do. We’ve looked at them in real detail as we do any team. We expect a really tough game.”



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