Middlesbrough FC news: Former captain given leave of absence from Sunderland plus Marcus Browne's Newcastle substitution explained

Former Middlesbrough captain Grant Leadbitter has been given a leave of absence by Sunderland following personal issues.
Joe Nicholson
By Joe Nicholson
Published 7th Feb 2020, 06:00 BST
Updated 7th Feb 2020, 17:07 BST
Grant Leadbitter rejoined boyhood club Sunderland in January 2019 after six and a half years at Middlesbrough.Grant Leadbitter rejoined boyhood club Sunderland in January 2019 after six and a half years at Middlesbrough.
Grant Leadbitter rejoined boyhood club Sunderland in January 2019 after six and a half years at Middlesbrough.

The 34-year-old, who rejoined the Black Cats in January 2019, hasn’t started a league game since Boxing Day and wasn’t even in the squad during Saturday’s defeat at Portsmouth.

Ahead of Sunderland’s League One fixture with Ipswich this weekend, manager Phil Parkinson confirmed: “Grant has got some personal issues at the moment and is going to have a few weeks away from the club.

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“We want to respect that and give him every bit of help we can. I’ve discussed it with Grant, and we just want to leave it at that for now.”

“All I can say is that Grant is a highly-respected member of the squad, not just because of his football ability but also his personality and character.

“You know about Grant and what his love for this club is about, but he needs a bit of time away and we want to respect that. But equally, our medical team will be helping him as well.”

Marcus Browne substitution explained

Following his loan move back to Oxford last month, Boro winger Marcus Browne has impressed in League One.

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The 22-year-old has already scored three goals in four league appearances for the Us, and impressed during an FA Cup meeting with Newcastle at St James’ Park.

Browne also played in Tuesday’s cup replay against the Magpies but was substituted after 62 minutes.

Yet Oxford boss Karl Robinson says Browne’s withdrawal, and the decision to take off midfielder Cameron Brannagan, was only precautionary.

“I protected Browney, but there’s nothing wrong with him. I certainly wasn’t going to risk Cameron Brannagan,” Robinson told the Oxford Mail.

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“That’s me being totally honest, people might say if you had left them on you might have won the game.

“But I thought we did just as well without them.”

Boro receive extra Barnsley tickets

Finally, Boro announced on Thursday morning that 2,500 away tickets had been sold for their trip to Barnsley on Saturday, February 22.

An additional 1,000 tickets went on general sale yesterday, while a further allocation is available on request.

Related topics:Grant LeadbitterMarcus BrowneKarl RobinsonSunderlandNewcastleBoro