Middlesbrough, who currently have three USMNT players in their squad, kick off their Championship campaign against Lincoln City on Saturday.
Boro missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season after losing in the play-off final but have been busy in the transfer market this summer as they look to finally get over the line.
On that front, USMNT players Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten have secured moves to Teesside from the MLS.
The duo made their Middlesbrough debuts last week in the Carabao Cup against Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac’s Wrexham, while Berhalter has been named in the starting XI for their first Championship game of the season against Lincoln City.
Arfsten is also in the squad and is starting on the bench, but there is no room in the side at all for fellow USMNT player Aidan Morris, who is injured.
Middlesbrough and USMNT midfielder Aidan Morris is injured
Morris arrived at Boro in 2024 from Columbus Crew and was one of their better players in 2025/26.
However, he has yet to feature for Boro this term, with manager Kim Hellberg confirming ahead of Wrexham that he had a short-term problem.
He said: “Aidan being out is not a long-term thing. He will train next week, but there was no chance to play this game [vs Wrexham].”
Hellberg then provided a fresh update on the USMNT player ahead of the Lincoln game this week.
When doing so, he suggested that if Morris did not play on Saturday, he would be back for the following match.
The Boro boss stated: “We have some 50-50 calls to make for the weekend, on Aidan [Morris], for example. I don’t know about him yet, it will be a 50-50 call on whether it’s this game or the next one.”
After Lincoln, Boro will play Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, August 22.
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