Ben Doak has been lighting it up in his loan spell at Middlesbrough from Liverpool so far but an injury since February has kept him out of the side and he has now been ruled out of the Scottish squad for their Nations League play off against Greece this month and is facing a battle to get fit for the Championship run in for the Boro. We will take a look at how his time at Middlesbrough has gone so far and his future both for Liverpool and Scotland.
Impact at the Riverside
After some impressive appearances for the U18 and the U23 at the Reds as well as couple of first team appearances in league and cup competitions, Doak joined Middlesbrough on the 30th August 2024 and made his debut for the club against Preston a week later. He scored his first ever senior competitive goal against Stoke City in a 2-0 win, and he has not looked back since.
Mainly playing as a right midfielder, he has bagged three goals and supplied seven assists in 24 games for the Boro helping Michael Carrick’s side be in and around the playoff picture.
But since the injury, Middlesbrough have only won two out of their last seven and will be hoping to get their Scotsman back before the season ends.
Future with Scotland and Liverpool
Doak has already made six appearances with the Senior team for Scotland making his debut in September off the bench against Poland and has started in the last four games and impressed in those for the Tartan Army. This season so far you would think he has impressed Arne Slot and with the uncertainty of Mo Salah signing a new contract the Scotsman could be in his plans next season.
The only slight of Doak is his injury record with an ankle injury forcing him out of most of last season and now a thigh injury could derail any plans with the Liverpool first team, but time will tell.
The Run In
With or without Doak, Middlesbrough will need to kick on if they have any chance of the Playoffs this season and that starts with two games before the international break, firstly at home to Queens Park Rangers and then away to Luton Town.
After the break where they will be hoping to have the winger back, they face Oxford United before a very interesting fixture against play off rivals Blackburn Rovers.
However, the most interesting fixture for the Boro will happen on the final day of the season as they travel to Coventry in a game which could decide who goes to the playoffs.
