New signing Kelechi Iheanacho is expected to be the only new player in the Middlesbrough squad at Sheffield United, but Michael Carrick still had some positive injury updates ahead of the game.

Last time out in a losing effort to Sunderland, Boro were without a number of key men. Notably, talisman Ben Doak missed out with a thigh injury suffered in training ahead of the game, while skipper Jonny Howson and right-back Anfernee Dijksteel were both still absent while closing in on returns.

With a nine-day break between the games though, Boro head to Sheffield United with only Dijksteel having a realistic prospect of being available, though more likely to return on Saturday against Watford. There was also imroved news on Doak and the period the Liverpool loanee with be out for.

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Carrick updated: “Ben’s still got a few weeks to go. It’ll be a few more weeks until he’s back playing. He’s okay. It could have been a lot worse, and at one stage, it looked as if it might have been a lot worse in terms of the seriousness of the injury. Thankfully, it’s not, so we’re looking at a few weeks.

“Jonny’s still going through his rehab too. We were hoping that he might have got back a little bit quicker at one stage, but that’s not really been the case. They can be funny things, calf injuries, and especially when you get to the stage he’s at in his career. It can be common for timeframes to shift. We’re going to be careful, but hopefully we can get him back pretty soon.

“He’s (Dijskteel) back training with us. It was his first real session today, so the game tomorrow is probably going to come too soon for him. But he was back training with the group for the first time, so that’s positive."

In terms of longer-term absentees, Boro still hope Darragh Lenihan can recover from his nightmare spell of injury frustration to play again this season too. His availability was under the microscope again after the January transfer window as Boro failed to sign a new centre-back, despite allowing Matt Clarke to leave.

Lenihan's 15-month absence has proven a complicated one. Initially an ankle injury that required surgery, he returned in the summer and took part in some pre-season training, even making a couple of friendly appearances. However, setbacks since - with tendenitis in his Achilles a particular issue, have so far stopped him making his return.

But offering a more positive update, albeit understandably without expectation or pressure on the player, Carrick said: “Darragh’s had a few ups and downs, unfortunately. We’re hoping to have him back before the end of the season at some point, if we can. He’s been out for some time. It was an ankle injury to start with, then he had a bit of an issue with his Achilles and a couple of niggles, with him being out for so long.

"There’s not really a massive timeframe on it with him, we’ve got to be patient. He’s been incredibly patient himself and keeps working hard. He’s in and around us all the time, but it’s a difficult place to be. But we’re working for him to hopefully be back sometime before the end of the season.”