STEVE AGNEW is weighing up whether to thrust Daniel Ayala back into the Middlesbrough starting line-up as he looks for the result that will give the fight for Premier League survival a perfect boost.

Boro’s new head coach is looking for every little lift he can find after taking over from Aitor Karanka and the sight of Ayala training on Thursday morning has provided him with a timely positive.

The Spanish centre-back has not played since damaging his hamstring in the defeat at Stoke City on March 4 and is the nearest of the injured defenders to making a comeback this weekend.

Middlesbrough head to rivals for a relegation place Swansea City on Sunday before travelling to another struggling side, Hull City, on Wednesday; the outcomes at the Liberty and KCOM Stadiums will go a long way in determining what level of football will be on Teesside come August.

Neither Calum Chambers nor George Friend will be sufficiently fit to be risked this weekend, so the onus is on Ayala being available to provide an alternative option at the back.

Ben Gibson and Bernardo Espinosa, whose form has dipped since earlier in the campaign, are the only players with experience who can play at the heart of the defence. Teenage Dael Fry is the only other option, unless full-back Antonio Barragan is asked to slot in.

Ayala was a key player for Middlesbrough in the Championship and had been expected to be a big part of Karanka’s plans in the Premier League, only for a bust-up between the two over his fitness towards the back end of last season causing problems.

The former Liverpool and Norwich defender has only played eight times in the Premier League and is desperate to prove he can handle the top-flight, having stayed and signed a new contract at the Riverside following a summer when he was linked with clubs including Newcastle.

Agnew needs to come up with a way of keeping Middlesbrough tight at the back in the remaining ten matches, while also ensuring they develop a more dangerous streak on the attack.

He will take the team to Swansea knowing Paul Clement’s side have lost their last two matches even though they remain five points clear of the Teessiders.

Clement said: “We have nine games to go this season and the fact that we haven’t picked up any points in the last two means it’s important we get points back on the board this weekend. We have momentum at home and we will do our very best to keep that going.

“We seem to have said five or six times that the next game is really important. We had it against Crystal Palace, we had it against Leicester, we had it against Burnley, we had it against Hull and we had it against Bournemouth. It’s another similar situation this weekend. It’s another very important game and we’ll be going out to win it.”

Middlesbrough’s Premier League trip to Chelsea on Saturday, May 6 has been but back 48 hours to the Monday, May 8, so that it can be screened live on Sky Sports.