Middlesbrough boss, Tony Pulis may unleash his newly acquired Nigerian import and skipper of the Super Eagles, Mikel Obi on Newport County in the fourth round FA Cup match today.
Mikel can return when he likes — Rohr
Newport County travel to Middlesbrough today looking for another FA Cup shock having already knocked Leicester out of the competition this season.
The Exiles’ 2-1 victory over Leicester was their first over a top-flight team since 1964, while Michael Flynn’s side dumped Leeds out and forced Tottenham into a fourth-round replay last season, before losing 2-0 at Wembley.
And boss Flynn knows they have exceeded expectations.
“The boys keep raising the bar, and they deserve all the credit I can give them,” he said. “I’m sure they’re getting that adoration from the supporters, because the last year in the FA Cup has been phenomenal.
With his squad hit with flu during the week, he could be forced to enlist Mikel for today’s encounter.
Middlesbrough are optimistic of gaining international clearance for John Obi Mikel in time for today’s game, but Tony Pulis has said his new signing requires patience.
“He hasn’t played since November, so we have to get him up to speed,” Pulis said. “We’ll have a good look at him in training and see where he is.”
‘’He’s a winner. He’s had that experience and Chelsea won almost everything with him as part of the team,’’ Pulis said.
Mikel trained with his new teammates on Thursday morning and it remains to be seen if he’ll make his competitive debut for Boro in Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie against Newport County at the Riverside.
Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/mikel-set-for-mbrough-debut/
