MICHAEL Carrick admits Rav van den Berg and Hayden Hackney weren't quite ready for action despite being included in the Middlesbrough squad for Saturday's win over Swansea.

But Middlesbrough's head coach was keen to get the influential duo back in the picture and, providing the pair come through the next couple of days unscathed, they could play some part in Wednesday's crunch game against rivals Hull City.

Hackney was back in the Boro squad for the first time since the defeat at Preston in mid-February, when he suffered a knee injury, while van den Berg has been missing since last month's win at Birmingham.

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Boro have fared well without the duo in recent weeks, with Carrick's side now seven unbeaten and having kept five clean sheets in their last six, but the return of the pair is still a major lift ahead of the final five games of the season.

"It's a big boost to have them back," said Carrick.

"They weren’t ready to really play, to be honest, but we wanted to have them there so that they were back in and around the group. "They haven’t had much training at all really. Hopefully they’ll come through the next few days all right and then we’ll make a call for Wednesday.”

Sonny Finch was back in the squad on Saturday after a minor injury setback, while Alex Bangura is back in training and is closing in on a return.