Pitch takes toll on Boro’s Paddy

MIDDLESBROUGH have suffered an injury blow ahead of their visit to the City Ground tonight.

Boro is likely to be without Paddy Mcnair after he picked up an injury playing for Northern Ireland.

The defender was forced to miss the trip to face Coventry City – with manager Neil Warnock having to change his team an hour before kick-off after the player felt a twinge in his hamstring during the warmup.

It has now been revealed that Mcnair first noticed a problem while on international duty, when he played the full game in a friendly against Estonia on an artificial pitch.

While the injury does not appear to be too serious, the defender is unlikely to feature against Forest.

A furious Warnock said: “I honestly haven’t got a clue how these national teams work.

“Paddy was telling me he felt it on Sunday in a friendly game they had, then he tells me it was the worst plastic pitch he’s ever seen that he played on for 95 minutes. It’s no wonder his right side was stiff.

“Who would want to play a friendly between two tough international games on a plastic pitch? It defies logic, there’s no sense in it.

“Now he’s stiff all down the one side. It’s a slight strain, not much, but it’s all from this plastic pitch. It’s ridiculous. We have to cover the cost of that.”

Marc Bola also sat out Boro’s defeat at Coventry, while Martin Payero has also been sidelined with an ankle injury.

Asked whether Mcnair will be available at the City Ground, Warnock said: “I doubt it very much. He’s going to do a little bit today.

“He has a slight strain inside of the bottom of his hamstring.

“The physio said It’s all down this side, his back is out. Playing 95 minutes on a plastic pitch for lads that aren’t used to it, I’d like to see most people try that.”