Ankle relief for Southgate
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Article summary
Middlesbrough FC have been relieved to discover that captain Gareth Southgate's ankle injury is not as serious as was first thought.
Article body
Further examination
The 35-year-old centre-half sustained the injury during Saturday's FA Cup draw at Nuneaton Borough AFC, and when the problem failed to settle, the club's medical team decided a further examination was required. It was initially feared the defender was facing a lay-off of up to 12 weeks but a scan on Wednesday revealed no fracture and Southgate is expected to return to action after a short period of rest.
Eight-week absences
The announcement comes as a welcome boost to Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren, who is already without first-choice left-back Franck Queudrue with a knee injury for as long as eight weeks, and defensive midfielder George Boateng for a similar spell with an ankle complaint.
Good news
There was some more good news for the Premiership side, however, as English international winger Stewart Downing featured for the first time since knee surgery in August in Tuesday's reserve game against Sunderland AFC. Ray Parlour also made his comeback having been absent since September with knee trouble. Both players will hope to figure in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie against VfB Stuttgart next month.
