MICHAEL Carrick is leaving Sunderland guessing ahead of Middlesbrough's trip to the Stadium of Light on Saturday, with Boro's head coach not providing a definitive answer on whether Rav van den Berg or Jonny Howson will be involved.

As was the case after Saturday's draw with Preston, Carrick says the pair are "pushing" to be involved.

Howson hasn't played since the Carabao Cup win at Leeds in mid-August, while van den Berg has been out of action since the Championship defeat at Derby three days later.

The pair have been knocking on the door for a couple of weeks but haven't yet returned.

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And ahead of Saturday's game, Carrick said: "Jonny and Rav are a little bit closer but whether they’ll be close enough is a bit of a push. We will wait and see."

The game will come too soon for Marcus Forss, who is back in training but not yet ready to return, while the likes of Dael Fry, Darragh Lenihan and Tommy Smith are not yet in contention.

Lukas Engel has also missed the last two games since the arrival of Neto Borges.

Carrick said: "He’s had a bit of a pelvic issue on and off for a little bit throughout pre-season, so we are just seeing what the issue is, if there is one, and we’ll get him back pretty soon."