DAEL FRY is ready to return to Middlesbrough’s starting line-up – with Michael Carrick having hinted that the centre-half could be handed a first appearance of the season at QPR.

Fry has not played at senior level since mid-February, with his only involvement since suffering a pelvic injury in the spring having come courtesy of a 45-minute run-out for the Under-21s last month.

That reserves outing was an important staging post in his recuperation, and having continued to build his fitness back up on the training ground, the centre-half was an unused substitute during Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Coventry.

Neither Matt Clarke nor George Edmundson covered themselves in glory as ten-man Boro crashed to defeat at the Riverside, and Carrick is expected to make defensive changes for tomorrow night’s trip to Loftus Road.

Rav van den Berg is unavailable because of a knee injury, so Fry could well be handed a first start of the season, with Boro hoping to avoid going a third successive away game without a victory.

“Dael’s at that point now where he’s done a lot of rehab and a lot of time on the grass,” said Carrick. “He’s trained with us for a good number of weeks now. He had the game for the Under-21s, where he played for 45 minutes, so there’s been stages to it (his comeback), really.

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“Sometimes, you’re able to map out an ideal preparation when someone comes back from being injured, sometimes it’s a case of something opening up. He’s certainly ready for it, ready to play.

“It would be a step up (if he was to start), but he’s done enough work and he’s confident enough, and we’re totally confident in him. So, if that was to happen, there certainly wouldn’t be any risk from that side of things (the injury issue). And then in terms of performance level, I wouldn’t think there’ll be a problem either.”