MICHAEL Carrick has clarified Sonny Finch's loan situation at MK Dons after the young forward returned to Middlesbrough to feature for the Under-21s this week.

Finch joined the Dons on loan on deadline day and has made six appearances for the League Two side, but since Scott Lindsey replaced Mike Williamson as boss the highly-rated forward has fallen out of favour and hasn't been named in the squad for the last four league games.

Carrick insists the loan spell "hasn't been called off" but Finch returned to Boro and was named as a substitute for the Under-21s for their Premier League International Cup game against Lyon at the Riverside on Wednesday night, coming off the bench in the second half.

Finch is now expected to stick around for the next week or so, with Carrick saying "we'll see what happens after that".

If Boro do decide to officially recall the 19-year-old in January, he won't be able to go out on loan again in the second half of the season having already played for two clubs this term. Finch started for Boro in the Carabao Cup second round defeat at home to Stoke City.

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Finch is very highly thought of at Boro and had only just turned 17 when he made his first team debut back in 2022. He made three Championship appearances at the end of that season under Carrick before an injury disrupted his progress last term. He returned in fine form for the Under-21s and earned a first team outing from the bench against Swansea in April.

Boro hoped the youngster would benefit from a season of regular football at MK Dons but the move hasn't gone to plan so far.

“He came out of the team at MK Dons after they changed their manager so it was important to keep him ticking over really," said Carrick.

"He might be here for another week or so and then we’ll see what happens after that. It’s getting the balance right as far as the experience of going out on loan and dealing with the ups and downs of that.

"Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it goes against you, and you’ve got to manage that as a younger player. Just having him back here and getting some game time we felt was important at this time. It’s not called off by any stretch."