Source: Northern_Echo
Strachan suffering injury trouble
GORDON Strachan will step up his efforts to sign a winger in the final three weeks of the transfer window after Willo Flood was ruled out for six months with a dislocated kneecap. Flood sustained the injury in the early stages of Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Ipswich and a series of scans have confirmed the right midfielder's worst fears. He will undergo surgery later this week to repair the damage to his knee and is not expected to return to action until the end of January at the earliest. Strachan had been targeting a new winger anyway, with Scottish duo Andrew Driver and Craig Conway having been in his sights for the majority of the summer. And with Dundee United officials hinting at a willingness to reduce the club's £1.2m asking price for Conway, the Boro boss is keen to make a transfer breakthrough as quickly as possible. It would be nice to have wide players, said Strachan, who will be without five internationals and eight injured players when he travels to Chesterfield for this evening's televised Carling Cup firstround tie. Willo will be out for six months. It's a bad one, but he's a hardy wee man and he'll be back. We've brought Tarmo (Kink) in, but he's only been in the club for a couple of days, and Andy Halliday is injured as well at the moment. We don't have a lot of options there. We're trying desperately hard to improve our crossing because I don't think we've been very good at that ever since I've been here. Funnily enough, I think the best crosser of the ball at the club is Tony McMahon and he's been injured as well. Despite the season only starting last weekend, Boro are already in the throes of an injury crisis that threatens to hamper their prospects in the opening half of the campaign. Halliday, Tony McMahon and Gary O'Neil are all unavailable this evening, while Rhys Williams and Jonathan Franks are nursing long-term problems that will sideline them for at least two months. Franks has been struggling with a back injury, and Boro's medical staff have reluctantly concluded that an operation will be necessary. Jonathan needs an operation on his back and will be out for a long time, said Strachan. It's a shame because I had envisaged there being opportunities for the young lads this season. There have been 13 lads training this week, so in terms of this game, it's really just a case of picking the best system to suit those 13 players. Tonight's selection problems have been exacerbated by the absence of five of Boro's international players. Scottish quartet Barry Robson, Stephen McManus, Kevin Thomson and Kris Boyd have been selected for tomorrow's friendly with Sweden, while Kink is in the Estonia squad for a European Championships qualifier with the Faroe Islands. Matthew Bates is being rested in order to protect his knee, but unlike a number of managers in the Premier League, Strachan is not about to complain about the scheduling of this week's international programme. If I didn't have quality international players, I'd be moaning about that, he said. I'm just happy I have international players that get taken away. We have to deal with that and other people have to come in and do well. Ironically, one of the players set to come into the side after missing Saturday's defeat is Australia international Brad Jones. Liverpool have not improved the £2m offer that was rejected at the end of last week, and while Jones remains keen to move to Anfield, Strachan insists he remains a valued member of the Boro squad. The Scot might have to change his stance if Liverpool match Boro's £3.5m asking price, but for the time being, the 27-yearold continues to be available for selection. He will not be the only unexpected face on display at Chesterfield's new b2net Stadium tonight, as Josh Walker is set for a surprise recall at the heart of midfield despite having made just one senior start for the Teessiders in the whole of last season.