Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder has revealed that Matt Crooks could be in contention to feature for the club in their showdown with AFC Bournemouth tomorrow.
The midfielder had to be substituted in last weekend's clash with Stoke City after picking up a knock in the second-half at the bet365 Stadium.
Middlesbrough managed to seal a point in this particular fixture as they produced a resilient display against the Potters.
Currently ninth in the Championship standings, Boro will be looking to send out a signal of intent to the rest of the division by beating Bournemouth on Saturday.
Whilst Wilder's side have managed to accumulate seven points from their last three league fixtures, the Cherries have experienced somewhat of a slump in form in recent weeks as they have failed to win any of their last five matches.
As a result of their drop-off in performance levels, Bournemouth have relinquished top-spot in the second-tier.
Ahead of this weekend's meeting with the Cherries, Wilder has shared an encouraging update on Crooks.
Speaking to The Northern Echo about the midfielder, the Boro boss said: "We're fingers crossed that he will be okay for the weekend.
"That's good news because Crooksy is a big player for us.
"I don't think he had his best game last week and then obviously had to come off the park with 20-25 minutes to go which meant we had to have a reshuffle and move a couple of players about.
"These things happen but fingers crossed it's nothing serious and he will be available."
The Verdict
If Crooks is fit enough to feature this weekend, Middlesbrough will have a great chance of securing all three points in their meeting with Bournemouth as the midfielder has been a stand-out performer for the club during the current campaign.
As well as providing six direct goal contributions in the second-tier, Crooks is currently averaging a respectable WhoScored match rating of 7.12 at this level.
It is fair to say that Wilder cannot really afford to take a risk on Crooks due to the fact that the former Rangers man could potentially suffer another injury setback on Saturday.
However, providing that the midfielder is raring to go, there is no reason why he cannot help his side pick up a morale-boosting victory tomorrow.