Coventry City missing key trio for Middlesbrough visit

Hamer received his second red card of the season in the Sky Blues’ recent goalless draw at Birmingham and starts a four-match ban.

Michael Rose (groin) is hoping to return to contention, while fellow defender Callum Doyle and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres have both returned from international duty unscathed.

Midfield duo O’Hare and Kelly are edging closer to their first appearances of the season after respective hamstring injuries, but are not expected to feature.

Providing an update on O’Hare – who was back in training this week – City boss Mark Robins said: “He’s a lot closer than we thought he may be at this stage, so that’s a good thing.

"I don’t want to put too much of a time pressure on him because it’s a really important period for him to make sure that he’s fully healed.

“But to see him out on the pitch means obviously that he’s not too far away and we look forward to the time when we can include him again.”

Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder confirmed that both Darragh Lenihan and Chuba Akpom are back in training and in contention to face the Sky Blues.

Marcus Forss (Finland), Paddy McNair (Northern Ireland) and Riley McGree (Australia) are expected to be in contention after international duty.

On-loan Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen returned to action in the recent home draw against Rotherham after missing the previous four games due to a knee injury.