Middlesbrough take on West Brom on Saturday afternoon, where they will be looking to bounce back after back-to-back defeats.
Middlesbrough have lost 2-0 and 3-1 in their last two outings, to Birmingham City and Luton Town respectively.
The defeat at Luton has left them in 14th position in the table, yet they are three points off a top six place.
Next they face third placed West Brom at the Hawthorns and they are in need of a solid performance and points on the board to potentially make the jump up into the top half of the table and keep their play-off push alive.
But they will need to do this without the help of Matt Crooks. The attacking midfielder has been a standout for Middlesbrough so far this campaign, scoring three goals and registering an assist across their 16 games.
The 27-year-old has started every game up until now but will not be able to play a part against the Baggies due to picking up a suspension in midweek against Luton.
He has accumulated five yellow cards and will serve a one-match ban. He is back in contention for their next game after the upcoming international break when Middlesbrough play Millwall at the Riverside on 20th November.
Who could play in Crooks’ place?
Despite having a lack of options in defence, Middlesbrough do have an abundance of attacking midfielders to fill the void left by Crooks’ absence.
The most obvious choice would be for Duncan Watmore more to come in and play behind two strikers, likely to be Andraz Sporar and Josh Coburn.
However, Martin Payero could return from injury this weekend and could play this role.
Marcus Tavernier, James Lea Siliki, Jonny Howson, and Paddy McNair could also deputise.
