Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder says Manchester City loanee Zack Steffen is in contention for selection this weekend.
The goalkeeper had been out with a knee injury since late August as his World Cup hopes with the USA took a concerning blow. The shot-stopper is expected to make the plane for Qatar but might not be Gregg Berhalter’s first pick at the tournament.
The 27-year-old secured a move to Boro in a bid to gain game time ahead of the winter World Cup, his infamous last City appearance coming in April's 3-2 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool which featured his fumble for Sadio Mane’s first goal.
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Steffen returned from his setback before the international break in Boro’s goalless draw with Rotherham to keep his first clean sheet for the Championship outfit, but had been left out of the USMNT squad for the recent international break by that point.
Instead, he put in the hard yards on the Middlesbrough training pitch with the World Cup just under two months away. As a result, he could return against Coventry on Saturday with teammates Darragh Lenihan and Chuba Akpom also in line to return.
As per Teesside Live, head coach Wilder said: “All been back on the grass and working this week so there is a decision to be made over the weekend. They are big players for us, all three of them.”
Middlesbrough find themselves in the Championship's bottom three after a poor start to the season.
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