MICHAEL Carrick won't rush back any of his injured players for next week's FA Cup tie against Blackburn.

Instead, Middlesbrough's boss will give them an extra week in the hope his squad will be boosted for the Championship trip to Portsmouth.

But it's not clear at this stage whether that will be the case.

Seny Dieng is back in light training but has not yet rejoined the squad, while striker Tommy Conway is still a "number of weeks" away from being ready to return, said Carrick.

The head coach confirmed earlier this week that Aidan Morris is in light training but it's not clear at this point when he'll be ready to return. Morris is expected to be available before Jonny Howson.

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Carrick said earlier this week that Marcus Forss is back in training and Luke Ayling isn't too far away, but suggested after Saturday's draw with Cardiff they won't be available next weekend.

"Not particularly," he said, when asked if any of his injured players are likely to return for the third round cup tie.

"It depends how we see that game and whether it’s worth rushing anyone one back as a necessity when we’re planning for the rest of the season really. We’ll see how the week develops."

Conway has been out since suffering a hamstring injury early in the Boxing Day draw with Sheffield Wednesday, while Dieng hasn't been in the squad since the December win over Millwall.

Carrick said: "Tommy is alright, but he’s out for a number of weeks so certainly won’t be back. Seny is back doing some light training at the moment. He’s not yet back with the group, but he’s able to do some stuff as part of his rehab. We’ll see how the week develops."

Sol Brynn, Darragh Lenihan, Tommy Smith and Alex Bangura are long-term absentees.