Middlesbrough defender Anfernee Dijksteel is set to be sidelined for a number of weeks after suffering a knee injury.

Head coach Michael Carrick revealed the blow for Dijksteel as he explained why the defender was absent from the squad for the Boxing Day win over Wigan.

Rodrigo Muniz also dropped out of the squad, but there's no injury for the striker, with Carrick instead saying he wanted to freshen up the bench. Matthew Hoppe replaced Muniz as a substitute.

Jonny Howson was forced off at half-time after suffering a blow to the head late in the first half against the Latics. The captain will be assessed in the coming days.

Carrick said: "I'll hopefully have an update on that next time I see you. At this stage I'm not too sure.

"He got a nasty bang to the head towards the end of the first half so it was just precaution. Hopefully he’ll be alright, but we’ll have to wait and see."

On Dijksteel, Carrick said: “Anfernee has a bang on his knee so he might be out for a number of weeks unfortunately."

And quizzed on the absence of Muniz, the head coach said: "It's just going back to options in the squad. We just want to keep the team fresh and the bench as fresh as we can and to try and get everyone involved because they’re important.”

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After keeping the same team for six successive games, Carrick made one change on Boxing Day, with Watmore coming in for Riley McGree.

“Dunc’s came on and made a bit of a difference for us in recent games. It was also just a bit of a freshen up," Carrick explained.

"There was nothing against Riley who has been terrific for us and obviously away for the World Cup as well. We’ve got good options within the squad and I was delighted for Dunc because he did ever so well."

Carrick also singled out Alex Mowatt for praise. The midfield loanee replaced Howson at half-time and impressed in the second half.

"I was delighted for Alex too," said Carrick.

"Coming on at half-time, he hasn’t had a lot of football since I’ve been in and it’s not always easy to fit straight in, but I thought he fitted straight in and him and Hayden (Hackney) were terrific second half.

"He fit in like he’d played there for a long time, which is always pleasing as coaches because it shows the consistent messages are getting across. Crooks came on and Hoppe too and both slotted in. Sometimes you can lose that when you make subs, but I thought the boys who came on did great."