Michael Carrick has no concerns about Ryan Giles’s confidence and will have no qualms about putting the Hull City loan man back in the Middlesbrough side at Swansea City.

With defensive injury issues meaning Neto Borges will likely have to switch into the centre of defence this weekend, Giles will be expected to return to the Boro side at left-back. It follows a tough start to his second spell at the club, with the 25-year-old out of the starting line-up in the last four games.

Having starred at Boro in his first loan spell here during the 2022-23 season, Giles had a difficult two years after that, though he insisted he returned to the Riverside in January a better player as a result. But scoring a really unfortunate late own goal as Boro lost the Tees-Wear derby to Sunderland in his first start, he was dropped after a difficult evening in Sheffield United where his attacking preferences gifted the Blades too much space in behind down Boro’s left.

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But ahead of his likely return to the side, Carrick said when asked about Giles’ current confidence levels: “Naturally players do go up and down at times. It's a lot easier when everything is coming naturally. That's just normal, it's just part of it. We're here to help him and look after him. He's a big part of the squad and team.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing him play and play well between now and the end of the season. I have no worries about him whatsoever. I thought Ryan came back and played really really well in that Sunderland game. The performance was really good. There's an element of settling back in and finding his way.

"Not everyone was here when he was here. There's quite a few different players, so it's settling in again, getting used to it again. He came on the other day again, he's in a good place and is really looking forward to having a good end to the season and doing exactly what we know he can do.”