Rhys Williams stretchered off just two minutes into first Boro start in 49 weeks

Rhys Williams will be anxiously waiting for the results of a scan after being stretchered off just two minutes into his first start for Boro in 49 weeks

Williams has been out of action since the start of this year after suffering an Achilles injury which ruled him out of the summer's World Cup.

Aitor Karanka named the Australian in the starting XI for the FA Cup game at Barnsley today .

But his return lasted less than two minutes after Williams, who started at right-back, crumbled to the turf clutching his ankle.

He was applauded by the travelling Boro fans when he hobbled to the Boro bench on crutches in the middle of the first half after receiving treatment in the dressing room.

Mark Proctor: Boro have never been in a better position to return to the Premier League

There’s no doubt that 2015 could be an unbelievable year for Boro.

The vibe and the buzz surrounding the club and the fans I speak to all suggests that promotion has to be the objective.

And rightly so. There is massive optimism around Teesside and Boro need to keep that going in the next few months.

What Aitor Karanka needs to make sure is that nobody puts a spike in the wheels of that promotion bus and that the team keeps moving forward.

I’m hoping 2015 will see Boro return to the Premier League and I honestly believe the club has never been in a better position.

The team are on a good run of form and some of the recent performances have been excellent.

All of this suggests that Boro are destined to be among the division’s top teams by May - but there’s still a lot of work to be done.

The only concern, looking forward, would be injuries to some of Boro’s key players.

Should anything happen to the likes of Grant Leadbitter or Adam Clayton, I don’t think Boro have another player to step up to that level.

I think we are a player short in that department. I know Dean Whitehead well and he’s an experienced player who can come in, but I think Boro could do with a Richie Smallwood type of player too.

Milos Veljkovic started his first game at Blackburn and did well, so it will be interesting to see if his loan spell is extended.

Maybe that extra midfield role will be filled by Rhys Williams, who is working his way back to fitness after a long spell on the sidelines.

It will be interesting to see what Karanka does in the January transfer window. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some kind of investment.

I know we’re not in threat of breaching the Financial Fair Play regulations, so we could see a couple of additions,

But one thing that will inevitably come in January is some of our players being linked with other clubs.

God forbid any of our star players will be snapped up by a Premier League team.

When you’re near the top of the league it shows you have good players, and teams will look at that and see if they can grab a bargain.

I’m sure Boro won’t want to threaten their promotion push and would keep their best players. We want them here.

The season is a long one and we’re only halfway through - so it is dangerous to start letting players leave when the job isn’t done.

It would be a massive risk but if a team comes in with stupid money for a player then it’s always difficult not to agree to the deal.

I can remember losing a few players in January and all the speculation coming out on a daily basis.

By the end of January the whole management team is always worn out. January is a month that brings a lot of pressure and anxiety - it’s a difficult period for every club.

But I am not against the January transfer window - I think it works well at the moment and it creates a lot of excitement too.

When your club goes out and invests and brings players in, it’s great. There’s nothing wrong with that.

It’s good for the supporters to read all the speculation and debate who may be coming in or leaving.

So there’s a lot to look forward to in 2015 at Boro. I’ve got two lads who are massive Boro fans are they are massively excited about the rest of the season.

Everyone is very complimentary about the club and about Karanka, and it’s been a great start to the season.

The next few weeks will be a big period for Boro, but if we can keep hold of the best players and continue our form, then Boro will be right in the mix.

Mark Proctor: They may be minnows but Boro must not treat FA Cup rivals lightly

Oakwell awaits in the FA Cup third round for Boro this afternoon and I suppose it’s a bit of a derby match.

Barnsley is only just down the road and it’s a good tie for supporters to go to after the New Year.

Boro will be expected to turn up and beat the League One side and continue their decent run of form over the Christmas period.

But that brings its own dangers.

Aitor Karanka’s side are expected to win but if preparation hasn’t been 100% then it’s the kind of game that very quickly can become a real banana skin.

Every Premier League and Championship club and down the country will fear they will be the team to lose to a lower league team in the third round.

There’s always a couple of results that come unexpectedly, and Boro need to make sure they aren’t the team that tastes that.

I expect it will be a tough afternoon for Boro.

The third round is always an opportunity for a manager to make a few changes and give some of the fringe players a chance to impress.

It’s the time of year that games are thick and fast and managers do like to tinker with their selection.

We’ll have to see if Karanka is tempted to do that this afternoon.

But that could be a dangerous game. You can very easily go to these kind of places and find that they are really fired up.

Boro are near the top of the Championship and Barnsley will see them as a major scalp.

Beating Boro could also kick-start their league campaign, so they’ll be all out for the win.

Make no mistake - if Boro aren’t up for the game this afternoon then it could become a very long afternoon.

It’s about how the players cope with that added pressure and that expectation on their shoulders to pick up the win and get into the next round.

The FA Cup is a fantastic competition and there is a real buzz on third round day.

There are a few non-league clubs still in the competition and preparing to play the big boys.

It’s always been a special competition for me, as a player and coach.

When I was a young boy I remember third round day and hoping for a good cup run.

It’s something aside from the league campaign and is very special.

As Boro were drawn against Barnsley (or Chester, depending on how the subsequent replay went) for the third round, I heard a few fans saying they wished they had drawn one of the big Premier League sides.

My personal view is that the most important thing is that Boro get another win - regardless of the opposition.

So for that reason a draw against a League One side isn’t a bad draw.

Wins breed confidence and a good Boro victory this afternoon will ensure they are bouncing into next weekend’s Championship match at Reading.

If you get to the fourth round then there’s always the possibility of drawing the likes of Manchester United or Chelsea, but for now it’s all about winning the next game.

Some people may also think that being knocked out of the cup early would be better for Boro’s Championship campaign, meaning there is no distractions from the promotion push.

But I think clubs always want to stay in the cup competitions for as long as they can.

You only need to look at some of the teams who have got to semi-finals and finals in recent years to suggest you can go far with a little bit of luck.

Live: Barnsley v Boro at Oakwell

With three clean sheets in their last four matches and only two defeats in 20, Boro will head to Oakwell in the FA Cup as overwhelming favourites.

Barnsley are not in the greatest of form - winning only one of their last six league matches.

However, their record in cup competitions in the last few years is impressive, having beaten Liverpool and Chelsea in 2008 as they marched into the FA Cup semi-finals.

Metal thieves leave over 1,300 Stockton homes without power - then dump haul after realising it wasn't copper

Metal thieves who left more than 1,300 homes in Stockton without power last night dumped their haul of electrical cabling when they realised it wasn’t worth much.

Energy distributor, Northern Powergrid, said it has been using less valuable materials in an attempt to clamp down on the problem.

Last night’s incident happened in Hartburn, near Stockton, causing power cuts to postcodes TS19, TS18 and TS21 areas for nearly two hours.

Police attended and discovered cabling had been removed and left behind.

A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid said: “It was a span of our overhead network that was stolen, that is a conductor, the cables that link each pole together.

“We will now liaise with the police to try and nullify the problems in the future.”

As well as the danger of electrocution faced by those who attack power lines, thefts can pose a safety risk to householders whose power supplies fluctuate.

The company said this particular network area has been restrung with aluminium cables in a bid to deter thieves.

The spokeswoman added: “This is extremely dangerous. People are willing to risk their lives for it. It would seem that the cables have been left once they have realised it wasn’t copper.

“They haven’t actually stolen as much as they usually would because it’s not as valuable to them.”

All supplies were back on by 10pm.

Anyone with information or who saw any suspicious activity should call Northern Powergrid 0800 668877, or police on 101.

Actual ghar wapsi will be sending Muslims to Pakistan: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena Monday warned that “it will not tolerate” the ghar wapsi planned by RSS-affiliate Dharm Jagran Samiti in Aligarh on December 25 as any such reconversion of Muslims “will lead to genetic abnormalities in the Hindu community”. The Uttar Pradesh unit of the party said the actual ghar wapasi would be by sending Muslims to Pakistan.

“The Hindu and Muslim cultures do not match at all and those who consider this a homecoming, they should take lessons from the history. We welcome ghar wapasi (homecoming) only if it means that they (Muslims) are sent to Pakistan, because (Mohammad Ali) Jinnah has already created a home for them. It is time both nations exchange Hindus and Muslims, it is the only solution to this problem,” Shiv Sena UP head Anil Singh told The Indian Express.

He claimed “Hindus have always had a calm nature and have always respected other religions but Muslims are fanatics and revolting in nature”, to which he further added, “If Muslims convert or reconvert to Hinduism and then marry Hindus, it will lead to genetic abnormalities in the Hindu community”.

Singh said his party was also opposed to the alleged mass religious conversion that took place in Agra. A controversy had erupted recently after a group of 57 Muslim families in Agra alleged that they had been converted to Hinduism fraudulently. Earlier in October, to counter “the growing influence of other communities,” UP unit of Shiv Sena had announced a reward of Rs 21,000 to each Hindu family with 10 or more children but had subsequently backtracked

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RNLI volunteers brave the winter waves

Braving huge waves and freezing seas, RNLI volunteers took to the waters off the North coast.

Helmsman Cameron Bond and lifeboatmen Ben Howard and Mark McGuire clung on for dear life as the Jackie Hunsley - named for a North woman who’s legacy bought the boat - crashed through the seasonal surf.

But thankfully the crew were not racing to the rescue, instead training for the choppy winter conditions off the coast of Redcar.

“We train every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening,” said Redcar RNLI operations manager Dave Cocks.

“Our crews have to make sure they are used to handling the boat, so they are ready for the ‘real event’, when conditions can be quite dangerous.

“In 2014 we had 55 call outs - which is a fairly typical number - with incidents ranging from surfers and windsurfers in trouble, to broken down fishing boats, illnesses and injuries.

“And these conditions were not the worst we encountered, which is why it is important for our volunteers - who make themselves available 24 hours a day - to practice their skills.”

Dave said the RNLI will in 2015 again be working hard to try and reduce the number of tragedies at sea.

“We have seen improvements in sea safety, and we have been running a big campaign urging people to ‘respect the water’,” he said.

“And we will continue to target the key groups who have the highest risk of getting into trouble - particularly young men who are full of drink.”

As well as campaigning, the RNLI crews will also be fundraising throughout the year.

“At the end of the day the RNLI is a charity and we rely on donations,” said Dave.

“Though we’ve very good support - and it’s often many miles from the sea.

“One of our lifeboats was paid for by the people of Leicester, while the other came from money left by a woman, Jackie Hunsley, who was killed in a coach crash in 1999.

“Her legacy said she wanted money to go to the RNLI to be spent on the North Yorkshire coast - and so while the crew might change, every rescue she’s there, doing her bit.”