MICHAEL CARRICK is hoping Middlesbrough forward Tommy Conway will be available to line up against his former club, Bristol City, on Saturday.

Conway has missed Boro’s last three matches with a hamstring problem, with the injury having forced his withdrawal from the Scotland squad during the recent international break.

Rather than representing his country in matches against Croatia and Portugal, Conway remained at Rockliffe Park to continue his rehabilitation programme, and while he has yet to resume full training, he has a chance of featuring against Bristol City.

The 22-year-old will be understandably keen to be involved at the weekend, having left Bristol City in order to join Boro in a £4.5m deal in the summer.

“We’ll have to see on Tommy,” said Carrick. “He obviously didn’t go away with Scotland, and he’s missed a period of time. We’ll have to see. There’s a couple of days left, and if we get him back in and around it, and involved on Saturday, then great.”

Conway has made a positive impression in the early weeks of his Boro career, scoring two goals in his three league starts and two substitute appearances since moving to the North-East.

He has tended to play in the ‘number ten’ role, although he is also an option at ‘number nine’ instead of Emmanuel Latte Lath, whose only goal of the season so far came on the opening weekend.

“Tommy’s a good player,” said Carrick. “He’s trained really well with us, he’s strong, clever, intelligent, understands the game and finishes really well.

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“He’s settled in as quickly as he could possibly settle in. I know he’s had the setback, with his slight injury, but when we get him back and he’s fighting fit again, he’ll have a big impact for us.”

Darragh Lenihan remains unavailable because of a long-term injury, but Jonny Howson and Dael Fry have both returned to full training during the international break.

Given that he missed the whole of pre-season, Fry is likely to be on the bench at the weekend, but Howson could start in central midfield ahead of Aidan Morris, who only returned from international duty with the United States this morning.

“Marcus (Forss) is back on the pitch and around it, and Dael has been back training with the group too,” said Carrick. “Jonny’s been back in and around it again, so we’re getting there really, in terms of the depth and quality that we’ve got to choose from, which is great. As the season goes on, the squad is vital, in terms of the impact everybody will have.

“We’re fortunate that we’ve got good choices at centre-half, so there’s no rush for Dael. He’s not played since January, so we’ll definitely take our time, but he’s training really well.”

Hayden Hackney withdrew from international duty with England Under-21s after complaining of tightness in his hamstring, but the move was a precaution and the midfielder is expected to be fit to face Bristol City.

“We’re working with Hayden to get him back,” said Carrick. “He missed out for a reason – he felt his hamstring just tighten up a little bit. Hopefully, it’s nothing major. He’s been in and around it, in terms of the training, so we’ll see how he goes over the next couple of days.”