Swansea to play it safe with Cabango
Ben Cabango made his senior Wales debut as a substitute against Finland in 2020
- Published
Swansea will make a late call over injured Ben Cabango for their Championship opener at Middlesbrough, but won't take any risks with their captain.
The centre-back missed the Swans' 3-1 home friendly defeat to Lorient on Saturday because of a calf injury.
The Wales international has not been able to get pre-season minutes and is a doubt for the trip to the Riverside Stadium next weekend.
Head coach Alan Sheehan has a headache at the heart of his defence with Ricardo Santos (knee) and Filip Lissah (ankle) also sidelined, which meant teenager Arthur Parker slotted in next to Cameron Burgess against Lorient.
Swansea lost Harry Darling to Norwich last summer and centre-back is a problem area, but they won't gamble on Cabango.
"Ben is a leader and a warrior," said Sheehan. "We want to get him back safely, that's the most important thing.
"There's no point risking him, we'd have to make sure that he gets some training and it might be tight for next weekend.
"Ben is the captain of the football club and it will be his decision on how he feels. If it's one game, two games or three games, we trust him to make that decision."
Forward Zan Vipotnik also missed out against the French side with a toe injury and is a doubt for Boro.
Defeat in final friendly
Swansea kick off their Championship campaign at Middlesbrough
Swansea, who lost at Cheltenham and Exeter in July, were beaten 3-1 by Ligue 1 Lorient in their final friendly.
The French side dominated the first half to lead 3-0 thanks to Pablo Pagis' double and a penalty by Mohamed Bamba.
Liam Cullen made it 3-1 from the spot in the 64th minute after Ronald was fouled in the box and then had a header chalked off for offside.
"That was our toughest test by a long, long way," said Sheehan. "That's the first time that we've really been tested out of possession.
"We had words at half-time, changed it and the reaction was better in the second half.
"That was our most useful test, we want to win every game but next week is when the business starts."