Cardiff manager Mick McCarthy has injury headache ahead of Middlesbrough clash

Cardiff manager Mick McCarthy has real injury concerns ahead of a home game with Middlesbrough that could shape his Bluebirds’ future.

Joe Ralls, Leandro Bacuna, Tom Sang, Sam Bowen and Joel Bagan are all having treatment for knocks, and McCarthy says some of them will not be fit to take on former boss Neil Warnock.

Skipper Sean Morrison must wait to see whether he reclaims his place after being dropped for the midweek loss at Fulham.

That was Cardiff’s seventh straight Sky Bet Championship defeat, and an eighth would possibly place McCarthy under intolerable pressure just nine months after his appointment.

Middlesbrough will check on the fitness of forward Andraz Sporar after his first-half midweek goal against Barnsley.

Sporar had a slight adductor problem while he was away on international duty with Slovenia recently, and was withdrawn at half-time on Wednesday as a precaution.

Defensive quartet Dael Fry, Grant Hall, Marc Bola and Anfernee Dijksteel remain sidelined by injury.

Sol Bamba returns to Cardiff for the first time since his summer exit, the former Bluebirds favourite having said his departure after five years in south Wales broke his heart.