Source: Northern_Echo
Thomson blow for Boro after midfielder suffers break
MIDDLESBROUGH have been rocked by a second serious injury in the space of a week after X-rays revealed summer signing Kevin Thomson fractured his fibula in the second half of Saturday's goalless draw at Leicester.[LNB] Seven days after Willo Flood suffered a dislocated kneecap that will sideline him for six months, Thomson collapsed in agony after sustaining an injury that will keep him out of action for eight weeks.[LNB] The Scotland international blocked an attempted shot from Steve Howard, but the Leicester striker's momentum carried him forward and ensured the lower half of Thomson's leg was twisted out of shape.[LNB] The £2m midfielder left the Walkers Stadium on crutches and tests yesterday confirmed a break to the fibula in his right leg.[LNB] An operation is not necessary, but Thomson will meet a specialist today to learn whether his leg will have to be placed in a plaster cast and discuss the best form of rehabilitation.[LNB] I was hoping Kevin would be all right, but you can tell when someone's seriously hurt, said Gordon Strachan.[LNB] It's bad news for the player and a big loss for the team because he has been our best passer in the first two league games.[LNB] That's two stretchers in two weeks because we lost Willo long term too. We've also got Rhys Williams missing too of course. We've not had much luck with injuries in my time here.[LNB] Thomson's injury blighted an otherwise satisfactory afternoon for the Teessiders, who displayed much of the spirit and resilience that had been lacking in the second half of last weekend's opening- day capitulation to Ipswich.[LNB] We had to dig in, because it was a really poor start last week, said Strachan. We had to make a platform for ourselves to get into the season.[LNB] I thought we did that by dealing with a really tough (Carling Cup) tie at Chesterfield, and I thought we carried that on here.[LNB] Leicester passed the ball better than us in the first half, and that's something we're going to have to work on and improve.[LNB] I thought we gradually started to get better, but we're still trying to find our feet a bit. It's an unusual league for some of the lads to play in and they're still getting used to it. But as long as we keep working hard, we'll get a platform so we can start enjoying our football.[LNB]
