On a more positive note for Strachan, Matthew Bates made his return from a fourth serious knee injury as ‘Boro went down 3-1 to Ipswich on the opening day of the Championship season.
Strachan told the club’s official website: “We’ll not see Willo for a long time because that’s a bad injury.
“The rest of us think we’ve had a bad day but he’s had a horrific day.
“He’s well loved and a character in the dressing room so he’s been very unlucky, especially having just come back from another long-term injury.
“But it was good to see Matthew Bates back because he’s had a long, hard road to recovery.”
