MICHAEL Carrick doesn't expect to have any of his injured players back for Friday's game at Huddersfield Town - meaning Middlesbrough will again be without Seny Dieng, Hayden Hackney and Emmanuel Latte Lath.

With Latte Lath again set to miss out at the John Smith's Stadium, Carrick must decide whether Josh Coburn is ready to start after two appearances from the bench against West Brom and Rotherham.

With Latte Lath absent and Coburn still working his way back to fitness after a groin problem, Boro have played without a recognised striker in their last two games but Carrick rejected claims that a lack of cutting edge was a concern after the Boxing Day defeat against the league's bottom club.

He said:  “The lads can score goals, I’m confident of that. You’re always a better player when you’re injured and everyone will say ‘he would have scored’. We had good players playing up front today so no drama there.

"It's easy to pick the bones out of every game. We have goals in the team. We created chances, we're playing largely good football, we're doing a lot of good things."

Coburn's last start for Boro came in the win over Leicester in early November.

Carrick said: "He's just finding his way back. More minutes and the more days that pass, the sharper and fitter he'll get."

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Hackney has been missing for Boro since the Bristol City defeat with a groin injury, Latte Lath has a hamstring problem and Dieng - who is due to leave the Boro camp for the African Cup of Nations early next month - hurt his thigh at Swansea. None are serious injuries but asked whether any are in contention to return at Huddersfield, Carrick said: "Not really. It's only two days so it's too quick a turnaround."

Boro's three-game winning run was ended at Rotherham but Carrick insists there'll still be a feeling of belief and momentum in the dressing room.

He said: “I think largely, I’m sure some will disagree, but I thought the performance, particularly coming away from home against a team who make it so tough with their direct approach, was good.

"They (Rotherham) are a team that are always in the game until you kill them off because there is always a potential moment with a long ball and a flick on. I just thought we dealt with that so well throughout, controlled the ball, pinned them in. We just couldn’t score. That’s why it’s so difficult to be critical of the boys. We’ll take positives from it and we’ll certainly look forward to the next game. We have to forget about the result and take a lot from the performance."