Injury Woes Mount as Boro Fall to Bradford

Middlesbrough's pre-season suffered a blow with a 2-0 defeat to Bradford City, raising concerns over injuries to key players Alex Bangura and Riley McGree.

Middlesbrough's pre-season campaign faced a significant setback as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Bradford City in a friendly match at Valley Parade. While the result is disappointing, the focus has shifted to injury concerns surrounding two key players, Alex Bangura and Riley McGree, who both left the pitch before half-time.

The match began with optimism for Middlesbrough, especially for Bangura, who was making his first start in over a year following a lengthy recovery from an Achilles injury. However, just 11 minutes in, he appeared to sustain another injury while challenging Bradford's Josh Neufville.

“It’s 430-odd days that Alex has been out. We’re hoping the injury isn’t too serious,” Edwards said. “He got half-an-hour the other day (at Mansfield), but the reason for him starting was that we wanted him to get the full warm-up with the lads at the start of the game.”

Shortly before the interval, McGree also had to exit due to tightness in his hamstring, expressing his frustration as he left the pitch. The Australian international has faced his own injury challenges over the past season, but Edwards remained hopeful that this latest issue would not lead to a lengthy absence.

“Riley just felt a tightness, so that was more precaution. We’re hoping it’s no more than that,” Edwards explained. “After the game on Saturday, he felt he wanted to work on the intensity a little bit more... he was flying around tonight, and I think he just felt things tighten up a little bit.”

The defeat was disheartening for Middlesbrough, who had aimed to build on some positive displays in earlier friendlies. Despite moments of fluid passing and creativity, they struggled to convert their chances, failing to test Bradford’s goalkeeper effectively. The Bantams took the lead just before half-time when Antoni Sarcevic converted a penalty awarded after Darragh Lenihan was adjudged to have fouled Joe Wright. Bradford sealed their victory with a second goal in stoppage time, as Will Swan scored with a low shot that slipped past Boro keeper Sol Brynn.

“When we look at it back, I think we’ll see that we got to the final third so well at times,” Edwards reflected. “But then we’ve got to make more of it. There were some great bits of play, but that’s not enough. I’m more interested in working the goalkeeper, having shots and scoring goals. The lads know that. It’s a case of making better decisions and executing things better if you are shooting. We’ve got some really good players, especially in those final third bits, but we need a little bit more from them now.”

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With injuries continuing to plague Middlesbrough's squad and the transfer market remaining quiet, the focus will now shift to the fitness of Bangura and McGree in the days ahead.