"Looked really bad" - Michael Carrick issues concerning update on Middlesbrough star ahead of Leeds United | OneFootball

The Boro boss has delivered a worrying update on one of his standout players from the last few games.

Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick has admitted that the injury that forced defender Neto Borges off in the first half of Boro's 2-0 win over Blackburn on Friday "looked really bad".

The Brazilian tried his best to carry on after landing awkwardly whilst challenging Rovers striker Makhtar Gueye in the air, but ultimately had to be replaced just after the half-hour mark.

A summer signing from French side Clermont Foot, the left-back has been filling in as a makeshift centre-back for Middlesbrough during the last few games, as Carrick has been grappling with an injury crisis in the heart of his defence.

However, the 28-year-old has been putting in some of his best performances in a Boro shirt in recent weeks, which has subsequently seen him undergo somewhat of a Riverside Stadium turnaround, as he really struggled to hit the ground running on Teesside during his first few months at the club.

Michael Carrick delivers worrying injury update on Neto Borges ahead of huge Leeds United clash

Following their victory at Ewood Park, Middlesbrough stretched their unbeaten run to four games in the Championship, ahead of their massive game against an out-of-form Leeds United side on Tuesday night.

However, it doesn't appear that Borges will be playing any part in it, and perhaps even more worryingly, Carrick delivered some fairly ominous lines when describing the status of his health.

Speaking in his pre-Leeds press conference on Monday via the club's official YouTube channel, the Boro boss said: "We're kind of still looking at it.

"It was - I don't know whether you've seen it back - but it wasn't a nice situation really. He was kind of knocked off balance and landed, and it looked like a really bad twist.

"We're hoping that it's not that bad, but we're still looking at it. It's unfortunate really, Neto's been fantastic for us, so to have that setback and to have to come off the pitch - we'll have to see how he is and see how he can recover from it.

"It was a blow to lose him."

Carrick was able to offer a more positive injury update on Middlesbrough defender Dael Fry

Given this latest injury blow to Middlesbrough's defensive ranks, there will be some fear among Boro supporters that just when it seemed they were out of the woods in terms of their injury woes, they may well have wandered back in.

However, Rav van den Berg was able to play 57 minutes in place of Borges at Ewood Park, and Carrick was also able to offer a positive update on the fitness of Dael Fry.

"Dael's trained," confirmed the Boro boss. "He's back in the group, which is good. He hasn't had an awful lot of training, but he's done a lot of rehab, so he hasn't been around the group too much.

"Because of the game on Friday, and obviously training with the boys and the way they've trained, but he's been back training today which is good. He's back involved."

The 27-year-old local lad hasn't featured for Middlesbrough since being withdrawn in the closing stages of the 1-0 defeat to Swansea City on 8 March, but his return to fitness appears to have arrived at the perfect time considering the blow to Borges.