--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-07-27T21:29:46.047Z last_updated: 2026-07-18T16:52:07+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/middlesbrough/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ2F6ZXR0ZWxpdmUuY28udWsvc3BvcnQvZm9vdGJhbGwvZm9vdGJhbGwtbmV3cy9raW0taGVsbGJlcmdzLWFpZGFuLW1vcnJpcy11cGRhdGUtMzQzMTM4Njg --- # Kim Hellberg's Aidan Morris update with star man among Boro absentees at Celtic - **Source:** - **Published:** 18 Jul - **Club:** Middlesbrough - **Original URL:** https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kim-hellbergs-aidan-morris-update-34313868 David Strelec scored as Boro drew 1-1 in Glasgow, despite their depleted squad. While the absences of Tommy Conway, Riley McGree, Kyle Joseph (all injured) and Alfie Jones (only recently back after the World Cup) were expected, there were five other notable absentees from the Boro team at Celtic. Morris was not in the squad, nor were Sontje Hansen, Finley Munroe, Alex Bangura and George Edmundson. That was because a bug had ravaged the Boro squad ahead of the trip north of the border. “Yeah, we had a few who were sick,” Hellberg confirmed after, when asked for an update. “Aidan, Sontje, George, Alex and Fin. It’s minor things and unlucky coming in with that, but it is what it is. They should all train on Monday or Tuesday though, so it’s no major thing.” Despite their absences at Celtic Park, there were still enough positives to take from Boro’s productive draw with the Scottish champions. Strelec’s opener was his third of the summer, after his brace last weekend in a behind-closed-doors friendly draw with SC Farense. Teenage defender Jack Daley started the game and looked assured throughout, while the returning Neto Borges was the only player to complete 90 minutes in the game. Overall, Boro controlled large parts of the friendly too, until the final 25 minutes or so when the changes from both sides became regular and stripped the game of its flow. Boro were still lacking an end product in attack - much like last season - but Hellberg was encouraged by the performance at this stage of the summer. FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK! Keep up with all the Middlesbrough FC latest via the Gazette's dedicated Facebook page “I think we did good,” he reflected. “You could see it was quite intense, the first half in particular. I'm happy with a lot of things. It was great to play in front of the fans. “I think the first half was very good. Then it opens up a bit and changes and it's sometimes difficult when players are coming into the game. “You know we had a lot of players away and we've sold some, we're trying to get players in which we'll do, but it's great to see players take steps from where they were last season. A lot of them have taken big steps. “A lot of the lads haven't played together but we still try to look as we want to, the type of team where we control the game and try to take the ball forward.” This was the first of two public-facing friendlies Boro play this summer, though more behind-closed-doors games are expected too. They start their season properly in a little under three weeks when they host Wrexham in the first round of the Carabao Cup, before starting their league campaign a week later at home to Lincoln City. On the season preparations and the progress towards the first game, Hellberg said: “This was a step up for us. We started our summer later than you might usually because of the play-off final. “So we’re a few days later than what you maybe would be, if you stop playing at the end of the season. That means the camp [in Portugal] had to be a bit special, and the game at the end of that, with 45 minutes for each of the players. “This was the first proper game, and it was good to see. There were a lot of good things to see, and now it becomes a bit like the start of the season for real in terms of also getting closer to something. “We have had very good training weeks so far, but it feels almost like the next stage of pre-season starts here.” Middlesbrough are preparing for a big summer as they look to rebuild from the heartarche of missing out on promotion to the Premier League. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest Boro news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. Your information will be hidden, you'll only ever receive messages from the Teesside Live sports team, and you can leave any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group'. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.