Boro receive huge Hayden Hackney boost for Wembley as Hellberg ponders selection

Hackney, who won the Championship Player of the Year award, has missed Boro ’s run in after suffering a calf injury in the draw with Bristol City back in March.

The midfielder has been a huge miss, but after ruling him out of the play-off semi-finals against Southampton, Kim Hellberg shared his hope that he would be available for the final should Boro get there.

When Boro failed to win at St Mary’s, however, Hackney appeared to be saying goodbye to Boro fans, with the expectation being that the Premier League-courted star will be leaving this summer if Boro fail to win promotion.

But Boro and Hackney have been given one more shot at a Premier League return thanks to the Spygate scandal and Southampton’s expulsion from the play-offs. It means Hackney should be involved in the play-off final on Saturday.

Asked if Hackney will be fit, Hellberg said: "He's training today. It's a very weird one, we've been off so long and not trained for a long time.

"We'll have to see what happens today and tomorrow and what happens from that. Hayden is fit, absolutely."

While Hackney is back in training ahead of the game, the big question will be how fit, and how match sharp he is. While a fully fit Hackney starting is a no-brainer, if he’s anything below that, Hellberg will have to weigh up how much he can get out of the star, and whether he starts.

"It's tough of course," Hellberg admitted. "You have to look at the whole picture, who can play, who's ready, who fits the tactics we want to use and how we put the players we can use into the best game.

"How do we approach the game when they are very good in different ways? It's a lot to think about and we will try to find the best way. Hayden is of course included in that."

On the injury front in general, Boro know that they will be without Tommy Conway after the striker suffered an ankle injury that required surgery and will also end his World Cup dreams this summer too.

Former Hull City man Alfie Jones has been absent since December and is unlikely to take part, while Kaly Sene missed both legs of the semi-finals and is a doubt for the final.

Hellberg said: "I have a lot of concerns after not training in nine or 10 days and them coming back from this. But it is what it is. We have two days to prepare and we'll do that."