MIDDLESBROUGH head coach Kim Hellberg refused to wholly blame the absence of top-scorer Will Lankshear after the Championship leaders’ 11-match unbeaten run ended in a 2-0 loss at Wrexham.

Boro looked a far cry from the side who have scored 30 goals in 13 league matches coming into the night – almost half of them scored by Lankshear who has 13 in the league – as they rarely tested Wrexham goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.

Wrexham, coming off back-to-back defeats to Blackburn and Sheffield United that had left Phil Parkinson under pressure, looked much improved and won it with late goals from George Thomason and Oli Rathbone as Boro's fine sequence ended in abject fashion.

Lankshear scored twice in the weekend win over Charlton but was subbed off late on, with Hellberg initially insisting it was cramp rather than a serious issue, but the 21-year-old was not in the squad.

placeholder image — Middlesbrough manager Kim Hellberg.

Hellberg said: "Every team would miss their top goalscorer. I think it’s tough when the decision is made very late and you have planned for it. That doesn’t help…

"You need to find ways. I think it would be difficult because we weren’t sharp enough. Whoever would be on the pitch there were not so many opportunities.

"To be fair to Will, he’s not often involved so much in the build-up. He’s very good in the box and in pressing.

"We need to find ways, but I think every team struggles if they miss a player who has scored 13 goals in 13 games.”

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson acknowledges the fans before the Sky Bet Championship match at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham. Picture date: Wednesday November 4, 2026.

The Boro chief was also quick to answer claims that the defeat was also down to a change of formation after switching to a three-man centre defence.

Boro played the same system in their win at Stoke City last month, he countered.

The Teessiders face a short turnaround ahead of Saturday’s trip to Vicarage Road to face Watford.

Wrexham chief Parkinson - a boyhood Boro supporter - said that the win will have meant the world to his Teesside-based father, who has recently been unwell.

Parkinson said: "I'd just like to make a special mention to my dad, he's been ill over the last few weeks.

"I know how much that performance will have lifted him, watching back home in Stockton-on-Tees with a lot of his friends, Middlesbrough fans as well."