Middlesbrough have made the decision to recall defender Nathan Wood from his season-long loan at Hibs, the Championship club have confirmed.
Middlesbrough sanctioned the loan exit of Wood in the summer, with the centre-back joining Hibs in the Scottish Premiership.
However, he has found his playing time extremely restricted, playing just one game so far this season in the 3-0 loss to Dundee United.
The report states that he will join up with Middlesbrough’s squad under new boss Chris Wilder.
READ: ‘I’ll assess everything’ – Middlesbrough manager asked about recalling loan players
Boro have a few players out injured at the back, with Dael Fry, Grant Hall, and Darnell Fisher all on the treatment table. Whilst there are also injury concerns surrounding Anfernee Dijskteel, who has only been fit enough for the bench in the last two games.
Therefore Wood could look to play his way into Wilder’s plans come January when he is available again to play for the Teessiders.
Hibs also announced the recall, stating that the players’ development was in mind when allowing the 19-year-old to return to the Riverside, suggesting he wasn’t going to develop at the rate all parties would have liked him to had he remained in Scotland.
A report from The Scotsman said that the managerial change at Middlesbrough has made Wood re-evaluate his options and states that he made it clear he wished to return to his parent club in a bid to work his way into the first-team picture.
Prior to joining Hibs, Wood made 13 appearances for Boro, five of which came in the league.
Thoughts
Wood certainly has a big future ahead of him and the fact he has played 13 times for the first-team at just 19 speaks volumes.
The move to Hibs may not have been too beneficial, but, although left in limbo until January he will be coming back to try to impress as best he can.
Wilder will have chance to assess Wood’s abilities and to see if he can be part of the first-team squad. If not, another loan deal will likely come to fruition in January.
