MIDDLESBROUGH are confident Patrick Bamford will be available for the crucial Easter double-header with Wigan Athletic and Watford, despite their leading goalscorer being forced to withdraw from the England Under-21 squad yesterday.

On a busy day at Rockliffe Park, Boro agreed the loan signing of Fulham centre-half Fernando Amorebieta until the end of the season, with full-back James Husband moving in the opposite direction.

Amorebieta’s arrival will provide some much-needed defensive cover for injured duo Daniel Ayala and Jonathan Woodgate, both of whom are already significant doubts for the Easter games.

Fears were also raised at the other end of the pitch when Bamford was forced to pull out of Gareth Southgate’s Under-21 squad, a move that means he misses next Monday’s game with Germany at the Riverside as well as Friday’s friendly with the Czech Republic in Prague.

The striker has been struggling with a toe problem for more than a month, with the injury having flared up again in the closing stages of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth.

Middlesbrough’s medical staff assessed the problem on Sunday, and their prognosis was passed to the Football Association, who confirmed Bamford’s international withdrawal yesterday morning.

However, with more than one-and-a-half weeks until Boro’s next domestic outing against Wigan on Good Friday, there is confidence that Bamford will be available to face the Latics.

With the Wigan game due to be followed by an Easter Monday trip to promotion rivals Watford, the 21-year-old’s availability represents a significant boost given that he had scored four goals in four games prior to last weekend’s visit to the south coast.

“Gutted to have had to withdraw from the U21s squad,” Bamford tweeted. “Been playing with an injury for the past five weeks and needed to sort it.

“Also, big thanks to Gareth Southgate for calling me up – means everything to me to play for my country and he knows I was very disappointed.”

While Bamford’s injury setback is only a minor worry, there is greater concern at the ongoing problems relating to Ayala and Woodgate, neither of whom was involved at the Goldsands Stadium.

In the pair’s absence, Tomas Kalas partnered Ben Gibson at centre-half, with the out-of-favour Kenneth Omeruo the only defensive option on the substitutes’ bench.

Rhys Williams has been ruled out of the remainder of the season, while Seb Hines is currently in the United States playing on loan for MLS side Orlando City, so Aitor Karanka concluded he needed another defensive option to see him through to the end of the campaign.

A deal was quickly agreed with Fulham for Amorebieta, a 29-year-old Venezuela international who initially moved to Craven Cottage in the summer of 2013.

Amorebieta started his career in Spain with Athletic Bilbao, making 254 appearances for the Basque club, who also count Karanka among their list of former players.

He moved from Bilbao to Fulham on a free transfer almost two years ago, but slipped down the pecking order at Craven Cottage under Felix Magath.

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His prospects have not improved since Magath’s departure, and he has made just seven senior appearances this season despite the Cottagers’ struggles close to the foot of the Championship table.

His arrival suggests that Karanka is extremely reluctant to turn to Omeruo, with the Chelsea loanee having made just four league appearances since the turn of the year.

Omeruo was one of Boro’s key players last season, with his eye-catching performances at the heart of the back four helping to earn him a place in the Nigeria squad at last summer’s World Cup finals.

He started the current campaign as an integral member of the squad, but has clearly fallen out of favour in recent weeks, with his attitude cited as a potential factor behind his demotion. Regardless of where Boro finish this season, it is unlikely that he will be returning for a third time next term.

Husband’s temporary switch to Craven Cottage as part of yesterday’s deal reflects his failure to dislodge George Friend from the starting line-up this season.

Signed from Doncaster Rovers last summer, it was hoped Husband would compete with Friend for the left-back slot and enable Karanka to rotate his left-sided defenders.

However, while the Boro head coach has repeatedly changed his starting right-back, Husband has featured in just three Championship matches all season, and it has been concluded that he would benefit from the opportunity to challenge for some regular game time with Fulham in the final two months of the campaign.