Ex-Portsmouth favourite and Derby and West Brom man finally ends injury hell - after 14 months away

A former Pompey favourite's injury hell is finally over - after a nightmare 14 months.

On Saturday, Matt Clarke was handed his first Middlesbrough league start since October 1, 2022, following back surgery and lengthy rehabilitation.

The occasion ended in a 2-0 defeat to Ipswich, with former Blues team-mate Conor Chaplin netting, nonetheless the central defender thankfully came through the 90 minutes unscathed.

The two-time The News/Sports Mail Player of the Season has endured a torrid time since moving to Boro from Brighton in August 2022, totalling just nine appearances.

During that absence, Chris Wilder was replaced by Michael Carrick as boss, who subsequently led them to the Championship play-offs last term.

Now, following two outings off the bench in recent weeks, Clarke is finally back in Middlesbrough’s starting XI and aiming to put his injury woes behind him.

The 27-year-old told Teesside Live: ‘It’s amazing to be back. Obviously, the result wasn’t what we wanted at the weekend, but from a personal level, it’s been a year of setbacks for me, so it was just amazing to be back out there.

‘When you’ve had such a long period off, there’s always that uncertainty and a little bit of anxiety about how you’re going to come back. You never really know what level you’re going to come back to. Your confidence comes from the games you’ve played.

‘I was in a situation where the chance to do that got taken away from me. The last few games I played before stepping out were some of the worst games I’d ever played in my career, but looking back now, the injury was obviously the reason for that.

‘It was hugely frustrating, but you keep cracking on and trusting that the hard work will eventually pay off. That’s all you can do. I’m someone who has massive pride in who I am as a person, and what I can do as a player, so when you feel like you can’t give that out on the pitch, it does hurt you a lot.

‘I feel like I’ve got a lot to prove. I want to show what I’m capable of, but we’ll see what happens. It’s not a case of not being settled. I’m really in my life away from the football.

‘Me and my partner are really happy up here – we’ve just had our first child. It is home, but the football side of it is yet to come, and I suppose that’s the exciting thing now.’

After arriving at Fratton Park in July 2015, Clarke made 175 appearances and scored nine times.

Initially recruited by Paul Cook from Ipswich on loan, he would spend four years on the south coast, claiming the League Two title and Checkatrade Trophy.

In addition, he won The News/Sports Mail Pompey Player of the Season for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

He departed in June 2019 for Brighton, who loaned him to Derby (twice) and West Brom before moving to Middlesbrough in August 2022.