GRANT LEADBITTER has paid tribute to Damia Abella for the way he has adapted to life on Teesside amid fears that the Spanish full-back could be ruled out for months with a knee injury.

Abella had a scan on his knee yesterday in a bid to determine the extent of the damage he suffered during the second half of Boro’s win at Cardiff City on Tuesday night and the results are expected to be revealed today.

It was a cruel blow to the 32-year-old after an impressive start to life in the North-East and Aitor Karanka admitted immediately after the game that it could be “serious”.

Ryan Fredericks, on loan from Tottenham, has already been put on stand-by to compete with Emilio Nsue to start this Saturday against Brentford and there is a huge amount of sympathy from within the dressing room for Abella.

The former Osasuna man, who has only played seven times since leaving Spain, has won over all of his team-mates with the attitude he has shown and the hope is that he will return to action sooner rather than later.

Leadbitter said: “Damia has fitted in superbly at the football club. We are all disappointed for him. Of all the foreign players that have come to a football club that I have been at he has settled in so quickly.

“He has picked up the lingo, he wants to learn and that’s the most important thing. That’s what impresses me. He wants to get involved in the camaraderie, get involved in things, he has been really good.

“On top of that he is a really good player and he has brought experience to the club, to the team. He has an opinion which you need in dressing rooms. Let’s hope he comes back quickly. We are a close knit group in the dressing room and we hope he will be back playing.”

The fact that Aitor Karanka has Fredericks, yet to make an appearance for the club, waiting in the wings to slot in is a good sign for the club. Karanka has worked hard on trying to build a squad full of options, with competition for every position.

“We have players fighting for places, but we are all disappointed for Damia at the minute,” said Leadbitter. “We wish him well. You look at the bench at Cardiff, we had Ben Gibson, Dean Whitehead, who is a great professional, on there ... then you have Patrick Bamford, who is working every day, and Lee Tomlin came off the bench with a bit of guile about him, which is what every team needs.

“We need good players in this division and I think we have got them. There’s going to be lots of changes, players coming in and out of the side, tinkering, but long may it continue.”

While Karanka has been mixing things up in a bid to keep Middlesbrough fresh, he has also relied on the likes of Leadbitter to keep some continuity.

The former Sunderland and Ipswich midfielder has enjoyed a fine start to the campaign, scoring six goals in eight matches, and that has led to Karanka stating that he wants to keep him on Teesside beyond the contract which is expires next summer.

But Leadbitter is not content with his lot and is determined to lead Middlesbrough back to the Premier League, knowing the team remain outside of the top six having had an inconsistent start to the season overall.

“It has been a good start for me but it could have been better,” he said. “We want to win more games and I want a few more goals. Don’t get sucked in by me being high in the league’s goalscorer charts, we are a good group in the dressing room and we want this club fighting for a top six position.

“Players should never be happy, they should be pushing for more, everyone is vying for the club and that’s a good sign.

“I have always enjoyed it here. The manager has brought in some really good players, we have only played seven games and we have lost three and won four, we need to win more.”

But Leadbitter was encouraged by the way Middlesbrough preserved the one-goal lead given to them by Kike at Cardiff, even if he accepts the game should have been won long before the final stages when the Bluebirds came on stronger.

He said: “The second half especially was hard earned at Cardiff. We should be killing teams off, the manager is right and we could have done that, particularly in the first half.

“We should have come away from Cardiff two or three goal winners. We didn’t get the goals, but it was a good grind and we performed well. The back four was outstanding and we got the job done. Now we need to build on it and get that winning mentality.”