MIDDLESBROUGH manager Chris Wilder is being forced to take a guarded approach to his team selection tomorrow night with a lack squad depth continuing have a significant impact.

Boro return to action in the EFL Cup when recently relegated Barnsley make the trip to the Riverside Stadium in the first round of the competition.

With important games coming up in the Championship namely this weekend against Sheffield United on Sunday, Wilder is not in a position to risk the fitness of key players having assessed the damage from the weekend’s loss to Queens Park Rangers.

"We have to be realistic in saying that while there might be some players I'd like to play, but with where we are right now, I will have to protect them” said Wilder in this morning’s press conference.

“We do have a couple of knocks, bumps and bruises from the weekend, and we do have to look towards the game at the weekend as well. I don't like doing it, I really don't. But we have to look at that game as our priority.

“We're not from a squad depth point of view, we're not how we want it to look, with 21-24 senior players. I think everyone recognises that when they look at our bench at the moment.

“There is a couple of conditioning issues as well, in terms of players who can't really go through and do 70-90 minutes for us at the moment. And there is obviously a couple of other issues that we have to look at as well. So there will be a sense of protecting some players and not risking them.”

While there are changes that Wilder will be forced to make ahead of the game, it doesn’t present an opportunity for some younger players in the squad who have been around the first-team picture in the opening games of the season.

Wilder continued: “We're not in a position at the minute though, where we can make wholesale changes with maybe only one or two kids floating around that. In terms of the squad numbers, there has already been a lot of participation from the young ones, and rightly so too.

“I would be loathed to go into a game with just five or six subs when you've can give an opportunity to the likes of Hayden Hackney, Sonny Finch, Caolan Boyd-Munce etc. It can always serve as an experience that will hopefully make them better and give them a taste of what it's like to be involved in a first-team squad.”

Boro head into tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup tie against Barnsley as they were with no new additions arriving in time for the game.

Boro are working hard in the transfer window to bring in a number of targets before the end of August. RCD Mallorca striker Matthew Hoppe is closing in on a switch to Teesside with the American due to have a medical at the club over the weekend.

However, it appears the deal has not progressed quickly enough for the visit of the Tykes to the Riverside Stadium. Manager Chris Wilder said: "There is no update. There will be nothing happening before 12 which obviously is the cut-off time to get them registered for tomorrow's game. Nothing will be happening in time for Wednesday.”

After the 3-2 defeat to Queens Park Rangers at the weekend, Wilder called for the urgent need of additions with his thin squad yet to taste victory this season. But he remains optimistic in the fact that the club have time on their hands to rectify that with around three weeks to go.

He continued: "We know we need to progress on that front and bring some bodies in. For the players we do have as well, we need to help them out. We're still 21-22 days off the end, but I think everyone recognises it's not little bits; we're not just looking for one.

“We're still waiting on a chunk of players to come through the door, and sooner rather than later hopefully in my opinion, and hopefully from those above as well.”