Van den Berg, Howson, Gilbert and Forss - Middlesbrough injury latest for Stoke City's visit

Rav van den Berg is in contention to make his return from injury for Middlesbrough against Stoke City at the weekend, though Jonny Howson is unlikely to be available.

The Dutch centre-back has been absent since suffering a leg muscle injury late on in the defeat to Derby County. Howson, meanwhile, limped off in the Carabao Cup victory over Leeds United in August. The pair won Player and Players' Player of the Year awards, highlighting their importance to Boro.

Both players have been back doing some training and have, for a few weeks now, been touch and go for games. Carrick has ultimately taken a cautious approach on reintroducing both to match-day squads, with options in his squad now much improved in both areas after the conclusion of the summer transfer window.

READ MORE: Stoke City injury latest with Middlesbrough bogeyman hoping to return for Potters debut

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Marcus Forss has also been back in training over the last fortnight or so. But having been absent since March - and having suffered a campaign of injury frustration last term - Carrick is being extra cautious about when the right time to introduce the Finn is. He hasn't ruled out being this weekend against Stoke City, however.

Carrick said: "Rav has been in and around the group quite a bit. He's pretty close to being in contention. Jonny is just a bit further behind. Marcus is in and around the group. Whether Saturday or Tuesday is a bit too soon, we're just working to get him back.

"We won't rush Marcus. The type of injury he had and the period he's been out, I'm not one for rushing a player back. It's careers we're dealing with. Patience comes into our thinking, he's not quite there but he's not far away. He's looking good in training so it's a real positive."

The other injury update from Carrick ahead of Stoke City's visit was on Alex Gilbert - and it was better news than expected. The forward missed last weekend's loss at Sunderland after twisting his knee in training ahead of that game. There was concern that he could be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with Boro still awaiting definitive results when Carrick last faced the press after the Sunderland game.

Providing an update in his pre-Stoke press conference though, the Boro boss said: "We thought it might have been worse than it is for Alex, hopefully it's only going to be a couple of weeks. We thought it might be worse with the way he twisted his knee, but it's pretty positive."