George Friend says he’s just as excited about Mustapha Carayol’s imminent first team return as the Boro supporters.
The full-back forged an effective left-flank partnership with Carayol last season which ended when the winger suffered a serious cruciate knee ligament injury at Bournemouth in March.
Friend can’t wait to renew the partnership but admits it won’t be easy for the 26-year-old former Bristol Rovers wideman to replace recent occupants of the left-wing berth, including Adam Reach and Patrick Bamford.
He said: “Muzzy’s a fantastic talent, he glides when he’s on the ball and he glides when he’s not on the ball.
“He’s a superb athlete and it’s fantastic to see him back fit. He’s a fantastic guy and he’s a player that excites the fans and he excites us as well with what he can do.
“Last season, before he got injured, I had a fantastic relationship with him. He got injured and Reachy came in and I’ve built a relationship with him now so it’s good that we’ve got so many options and it means the manager has a difficult decision to make.”
Carayol ended his 10-month injury hell a fortnight ago when he played 58 minutes for the Under-21s at Brighton, and will be eager to get further minutes under his belt in the next few weeks.
Aitor Karanka is hoping to include him in a first team squad before the end of the month and, if he does, Friend believes it will be like having a new signing.
“It really will be,” he said. “Our squad - I said it at the start of the season - I wouldn’t swap it for anyone else’s.”
Asked about recalling Carayol, Karanka admitted it had been tough to get the player the required amount of game time with Boro’s Under-21 development team.
He said: “He has been out for 10-11 months and it looks like he is fit but it is difficult because of the timing of the games and training.”
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