Boro will be without George Friend, Kenneth Omeruo and Ben Gibson for the tough trip to Burnley
George Friend has been ruled out of Saturday’s trip to Burnley.
The left-back limped off early in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Birmingham and scans have now confirmed damage to a groin muscle.
It will be a blow to boss Aitor Karanka, who also has to deal with suspensions in his defence.
“We have a lot of injuries and other problems,” said Karanka, whose side go to Turf Moor on the back of three straight wins.
“But we will put 11 players on the pitch and I’m sure those who do play will play with the same intensity as we did on Tuesday.”
Even with a full squad, the clash against the promotion-chasing Clarets would have been tough.
But, with three key members of the defence missing it will be made even harder against a side who will be promoted to the Premier League if they win on Saturday and Derby lose.
Kenneth Omeruo has been handed a one-match ban after his dismissal for his two yellow cards against Birmingham while fellow central defender Ben Gibson, who was also sent off after a second booking, was given a two-game ban because of his previous card collection this season.
Gibson stood in for Friend when he went off on Tuesday, so Karanka now faces a left-back dilemma.
Meanwhile, winger Mustapha Carayol has had reconstruction surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament.
It went well but he now faces six months of rest and rehabilitation.
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