MICHAEL Carrick hailed his "terrific" Middlesbrough players for their efforts in reaching the last four of the Carabao Cup, but the impressive victory over Port Vale could have come at a cost, with the "decimated" squad potentially now further stretched after a number of fresh injury setbacks.

Rav van den Berg missed the 3-0 win on Tuesday night with a back injury suffered in the win at Swansea, while Emmanuel Latte Lath, Matt Crooks, Isaiah Jones and Morgan Rogers were all replaced at varying stages at Vale Park.

Latte Lath and Jones - who came off the bench at half-time only to then be substituted just after the 70-minute mark - were carrying niggles coming into the game and managed carefully by Carrick, so the hope is they'll both be fit for Saturday's game at West Brom.

Crooks also looked to have picked up a slight niggle, while Rogers hobbled off after a late tackle.

Boro are also still waiting to discover the severity of Seny Dieng's injury, while the likes of Hayden Hackney, Riley McGree and Marcus Forss all remain sidelined, with Darragh Lenihan, Tommy Smith and Lewis O'Brien long-term absentees.

"Rav had a bit of a stiff back, got an elbow in the back, so we'll have to see if we can get him back for Saturday," said Carrick, running through the latest injury setbacks.

"We had to manage Manu, he felt his hamstring a bit; Izzy felt his hamstring. That's part of why he didn't start because he's been carrying a bit of a niggle and put in a hell of a shift on Saturday, so it was a case of managing that.

"We managed him second half when we could get him off the pitch. And Crooksy. So they're adding up. We've been talking about that for a number of weeks now, we've found a way, managed and we'll have to keep finding a way."

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Despite their lengthy injury list and the fresh setbacks, Boro made easy work of Port Vale to secure a first spot in the last four of the Carabao Cup since winning the competition 20 seasons ago.

A delighted Carrick said: "I thought the boys were terrific. It looked comfortable and felt comfortable with 15 minutes to go but you have to put yourself in that position and earn it. Even at half-time the main thing we spoke about was the game being on a knife-edge and we have to finish it off.

"I thought the boys were fantastic. The squad is decimated and we have more niggles tonight, but it's all part of the journey. We're into a semi-final, who'd have thought that? It's a great thing to look forward to.

"I said at the start (of the competition) we were in it to see how far we could go and we always picked teams to win the game. We find ourselves here. Who knows what will happen next. Whoever we get it will be a tough couple of games but we'll enjoy it and hopefully have a few back by then.

"It's not easy to come and play like that at a place like this against a team that is trying to make it really difficult for us. I was really pleased with the boys in terms of what it looked like, their attitude, the quality of our play and the spirit and togetherness. Incredible. It's a happy changing room as you'd expect and everyone is in the thick of it."