MUSTAPHA Carayol is expected to step up his comeback from a serious knee injury with Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka hoping to have the winger available at the beginning of February.

Karanka has refrained from putting a specific date on Carayol’s return and the Spaniard is wary of bringing the 26-year-old back too soon after seeing Rhys Williams break down on his return following 12 months out at Barnsley.

The former Bristol Rovers wide man hasn’t featured since tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in the 0-0 draw at Bournemouth last March, but he could be in line for a return in the trip to Brentford on January 31 or the visit of Charlton a week later.

Carayol has been doing light work on his own at the club’s Rockliffe Park training base and provided he suffers no reaction the winger could link up with the rest of the squad next week.

Having watched his side fail to score in three of their last five games, Carayol’s return would provide a welcome boost to Karanka’s attacking options as Boro continue their quest for promotion.

The Teessiders spurned a host of chances and were held to their second goalless draw in three games at Reading on Saturday, but they will look to get their promotion aspirations back on track at home to Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

Adam Clayton is available and likely to face his former club after serving a one-match suspension, while Jacob Butterfield will return to the Riverside Stadium for the first time since moving to West Yorkshire in the summer.

Butterfield moved in the opposite direction as part of the deal to bring Clayton to Teesside.

The midfielder admits he is looking forward to making his return, but the midfielder hopes the Terriers, who are 15th in the Championship table, can spring another surprise after beating play-off contenders Watford on Saturday.

He said: “I am sure there will be some text messages going backwards and forwards. There might be an extra bit of spice for the fans, but there is no sentiment in football.

“I am at Huddersfield now and Middlesbrough are a former club.

“They are having a good season and doing well but so were Watford, and we beat them.

“There’s no reason why we can’t go up to the Riverside and win.”

Boro's Under 21s got back to winning ways after an uncharacteristic defeat at the hands of Stoke last Monday, beating Derby 1-0 at Victoria Park.

The first effort arrived on nine minutes for Boro when Ryan Brobbel sent a cross into the box, and Charlie Wyke’s header looped over the bar. Then Bryn Morris was unmarked 20 yards out, but side-footed wide.

Four minutes from the interval, Derby’s Alban Bunjaku turned in the penalty area, cut the ball back to Mason Bennett who dragged wide of an open goal.

Six minutes after the restart, Boro went close when Brobbel threaded a ball to Kitchin on the break, but he shot into the side netting.

They went close again on 70 minutes when Morris floated a free-kick into the area. Jonathan Burn, on the edge of the six-yard box, couldn't quite make the connection needed to open the scoring.

However, the break came on 76 minutes, after great work from Jordan Jones to keep in a Brobbel cross saw him brought down in the area by Isak Ssewankambo. Wyke converted the spot kick.

Derby immediately tried to hit back, with a low cross into the Boro box. Offrande Zanzala, with his first touch since coming on, somehow cleared the bar from two yards out.

Boro: Ripley; Halliday, Atkinson (Weledji 68), Burn, Bennett, Morris, Jones, Maloney (Tinkler 64), Wyke, Kitching, Brobbel. Subs: Coddington (gk); Cooke, Fewster.