Kim Hellberg Addresses Ashley Phillips’ Chances of Playing for Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough head coach Kim Hellberg has revealed that Ashley Phillips is unlikely to make his debut in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup second-round meeting with Doncaster Rovers.

The 21-year-old recently completed a permanent move to Boro from Tottenham, but Hellberg is taking a cautious approach with the centre-back because he did not complete a full pre-season before arriving on Teesside.

Phillips was left out of the squad for Saturday’s Championship defeat at Blackburn, and Hellberg does not expect him to be ready for the trip to Doncaster either. However, there is a possibility the defender could be involved when Middlesbrough return to league action against West Bromwich Albion this weekend.

When asked about Phillips’ readiness following the loss at Ewood Park, Hellberg initially suggested that the defender was still some distance from full match fitness.

Asked whether supporters could expect to see him against Doncaster, the Boro boss indicated that the game would probably come too soon, instead pointing towards the following weekend as a more realistic target.

Hellberg also provided a positive update on David Strelec, saying he is hopeful the striker will return to the squad for the cup tie.

Strelec has been unavailable for Middlesbrough’s opening three competitive matches after suffering an injury during pre-season. His situation has also attracted attention away from the pitch, with reports in Europe claiming that he had agreed personal terms with Greek club PAOK.

Those reports reportedly came as a surprise to Boro’s head of football Kieran Scott, who stated that Middlesbrough had not received any approach from the Greek side. Getafe have also previously been linked with the striker.

Middlesbrough will head into Tuesday’s cup encounter looking to respond positively to their first defeat of the season. Boro were beaten 2-1 by Blackburn on Saturday despite taking an early lead.

One of the brighter moments from that match was Jeremy Sarmiento opening his Middlesbrough account.

The winger experienced a difficult opening period after initially joining the club on loan in January, but his first full pre-season with Boro appears to have put him in a stronger position heading into the new campaign.

Hellberg highlighted the importance of Sarmiento having been part of the squad from the beginning of pre-season and believes the additional preparation has helped him build his physical condition.

The manager also acknowledged that evaluating Sarmiento during the previous campaign was difficult because he arrived without sufficient match preparation.

That issue is not unique to Sarmiento, with several Middlesbrough players still working towards their best physical level. Hellberg believes getting everyone fully integrated and ready will remain one of the major challenges during the early stages of the season.