Midfielder Cole Skuse says David McGoldrick’s latest absence due to injury is heartbreaking for the striker and also the rest of the squad and the staff.
The 28-year-old, who has had lengthy spells on the sidelines with a variety of injuries in each of the last three seasons, is facing at least six weeks out with damaged ankle ligaments, but potentially 12 if he requires surgery.
The Republic of Ireland international suffered the injury soon after coming on as a half-time sub against Boro last Tuesday but played on with the severity of the problem only established later. He is set to see a specialist today to discover whether he needs to undergo an operation.
"The lads really feel for him because he was obviously disappointed not to get in the Ireland squad, I thought he was very unlucky not to get in the Irish squad,” Skuse said.
"He had his bit of break where he switched off from last season and he came back really, really fit, he was in great shape, so to take a nasty fall like he did [is a big blow for him].”
"And it did look nasty from the side when I saw it. When you saw him run it off you thought it might just be an awkward one and he’ll be OK, but to find out the news that he’ll be out for quite some time is not just a blow for him but a massive blow for us because he’s a top, top player.
"But there’s nothing we can do about that, now we’ve got to get round him, try and get him back as quickly as we can and as best we can and then move on. There are other players who are going to have to come in and do that job.”
The 30-year-old added: "He’s a great lad as well, he’s a hard trainer, he comes in every day and he’ll do his prehab stuff, his good warm-up, he’s a great trainer, he’s a great pro, so for him to take a setback like that and a fall like that, it’s not just heartbreaking for him but for us and the staff. It’s a tough one to swallow because he’s a great kid as well.”