Joe Allen and Przemysław Płacheta set to miss Middlesbrough trip

Head coach Luke Williams has confirmed Joe Allen and Przemysław Płacheta will be absent for this weekend’s trip to Middlesbrough.

Allen suffered a toe injury in the defeat to Queens Park Rangers, while Płacheta picked up a hamstring problem in the draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Kyle Naughton remains sidelined with his own hamstring injury, although Bashir Humphreys is nearing a return.

“Joe is going to be sidelined for the time being, it’s not something that has settled down for him to come straight back in,” said Williams. 

“We don’t know how long at the minute, it is still early but we know he won’t be involved in next game, but it needs to settle down before we can assess.

“I think Shemmy is around two weeks from us seeing him again, hopefully his progress is good and soon he can be back.

“Naughton’s is a bit more serious than Shemmy, so we have to see more how he copes with conditioning now, he is working hard and it is great to see a senior player make that example where he is hammering away on the bike.

“He has been with the squad and travelled to Sheffield, and I have been so impressed with how involved he has been and how concentrated he has been on wanting us to win and do well, helping the staff and everyone. 

“It’s been incredible. He is brilliant on the pitch and brilliant off the pitch.

“Bashir is getting there now, hopefully he can be in contention soon and Harrison is available but been unfortunate in terms of the balance of the squad. His attitude has been excellent, I’ve been happy with that.”