Mowbray in hunt for keeper

07 March 2011 15:30
Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray has launched a desperate search for a goalkeeper ahead of the npower Championship clash with Derby. Jason Steele tore a stomach muscle during Saturday's 5-2 defeat at Reading and has been ruled out for six to eight weeks, while Danny Coyne is still two to three weeks away from returning from a back injury. Eighteen-year-old Connor Ripley made his senior debut as Steele's replacement at the Madejski Stadium, but Mowbray has spent the last 48 hours or so engaged in an as yet fruitless quest to land an experienced loan signing. Striker Scott McDonald missed the Reading game with a virus and will be assessed on Tuesday, while Julio Arca is likely to miss out once again with toe and knee problems. Stephen McManus, Jonathan Franks and Luke Williams (all ankle ligaments), Andrew Davies, Matthew Bates and Justin Hoyte (all hamstring), Kevin Thomson (hairline leg fracture) and Willo Flood (knee) remain on the sidelines.

Source: PA