Sidelined for seven-and-a-half months: The ongoing agony of ex-Portsmouth, Derby and West Brom favourite - and his Middlesbrough heartache

Matt Clarke has suffered a torrid time with injury since arriving at the Riverside Stadium from Brighton in August.

A back problem forced him off in the 55th minute during a 1-0 defeat at Coventry on October 1 – and he hasn’t played since.

In total, the classy centre-half has made six appearances since recruited for an undisclosed fee, while has never played for Michael Carrick following his October arrival as manager.

In Clarke’s absence, Boro have flourished under their new boss, finishing fourth in the Championship to qualify for the play-offs.

They are scheduled to host Coventry in the semi-final second leg on Wednesday night, having shared a goalless draw in the first leg.

However, watching from the stands once more will be Clarke, who previously rarely suffered injury during productive spells at Derby (twice), West Brom and, of course, Pompey.

During four impressive seasons on the south coast, he won the League Two title, the Checkatrade Trophy, and was twice crowned The News/Sports Mail Player of the Season.

Initially arriving as a teenager on loan from Ipswich in the summer of 2015, he went on to establish himself as a first-team regular, forming effective partnerships with Christian Burgess and Jack Whatmough.

It is no coincidence that two of those were in the Championship this season, while Burgess is enjoying his second season in the top flight of Belgian football.

However, following League One play-off semi-final defeat to Sunderland in May 2019, Pompey sold Clarke to Brighton, with the defender keen to test himself at a higher level.

He totalled 175 appearances and nine goals for the Blues, although never made an appearance for the Premier League Seagulls.

Instead they sent him on loan to the Championship for three successive campaigns, featuring for Derby and West Brom, before joining Middlesbrough permanently.

Should Boro win the play-offs, it would put Clarke in the frame to finally make his Premier League bow next season.

And, having played in League One and League Two for Pompey, and also the Championship, that would represent the landmark of featuring in the top four English divisions by the age 26.