Rhys Williams has undergone a successful operation on his injured ankle, but is still not expected to return until the turn of the year. The Middlesbrough midfielder damaged ankle ligaments during last month’s Capital One Cup win at Gillingham.

He has subsequently undergone surgery, and will begin his rehabilitation before the end of the month.

However, he is still expected to be sidelined for up to four months, meaning he is unlikely to be back in action before the Christmas schedule.

Williams’ absence was one of the key reasons behind Tony Mowbray’s decision to offer free agent Andre Bikey a one-year contract earlier this week.

Bikey has been training with Middlesbrough for a number of weeks and is expected to go straight into the squad for Saturday’s home game with Ipswich Town.