AITOR KARANKA feels Mustapha Carayol’s year-long absence has enabled him to strengthen his relationship with the injury-hit winger.

Carayol will return to the Boro squad for the first time this season when Brighton visit the Riverside for the final game of the campaign tomorrow, having proved his fitness during a five-game loan spell with the Seagulls last month.

The 26-year-old was sidelined for more than 12 months after damaging his cruciate ligaments at Bournemouth in March 2014, but his return to action means he could yet play a prominent role in Boro’s play-off campaign.

Given the length of his rehabilitation, he was allowed to spend a significant period of time recovering in his adopted home of London, and whenever Karanka was in the capital to meet representatives of Chelsea and Tottenham, who both have players on loan on Teesside, the Boro head coach would make a point of meeting up with Carayol.

Those meetings enabled him to maintain an ongoing dialogue with the Gambia-born wide man, and meant he was happy to hand Carayol a new two-and-a-half year deal earlier this week.

“I have a very good relationship with him now,” said Karanka. “And I think we’ve built this relationship when he was injured and in London. I went there to visit him and had a chat and our relationship is much better.

“He knows my thoughts and I know him as a player so, for this reason, I didn’t have any doubts about extending his contract.

“I went to London a few times because I had a meeting there with Jose (Mourinho), with Chelsea, with Tottenham and once or twice I was with him. It was important for him to know that the club and the manager hadn’t forgotten him.”

Last season, Carayol was one of Boro’s most influential performers, and while his absence throughout the whole of this term has not prevented the Teessiders making the play-offs for the first time since their relegation from the Premier League in 2009, there have been times where his pace and trickery, particularly on the left-hand side, would have been a major asset.

The fact the Boro hierarchy have been willing to commit to a deal spanning another 30 months underlines just how highly he is regarded at Rockliffe Park, and Karanka is looking forward to seeing him in action once he has a full pre-season under his belt.

Prior to that, he could yet prove influential in the play-offs, and with his loan at Brighton now officially at an end, there is a good chance he will be involved at some stage when his recent team-mates travel to Teesside tomorrow for a game that is effectively a dead rubber given the three points and 19 goals that currently separate Boro from second-placed Bournemouth.

“He's an amazing player,” said Karanka. “He can be important in the play-offs, or he can be important next season, but he needs to get more confident day-by-day.

“He feels better (following his loan), and I hope he will have his chance (against Brighton). That will be especially (important) to check him, thinking about the play-offs. We hope he can have his chance.

“He is fitter than when he left, but it is not really about his fitness. It is more about his confidence because I had the same injury and you have to get your confidence back.

“Now, he is more confident, but he still needs time because it was a long-term injury. He needs time, but I have always said that he can be an important player for us.”

Karanka has ruled out making wholesale changes for tomorrow’s game, but he will have to find a left-back replacement for George Friend, who is suspended following his dismissal at Fulham.

Boro will not be recalling James Husband from his loan at Craven Cottage, so Fernando Amorebieta is set to line up on the left-hand side of the back four.

Jelle Vossen is available despite having been a doubt in the build up to last weekend’s 4-3 reverse, but Patrick Bamford is rated at 50-50 as he continues to struggle with a long-standing ankle complaint.

“I don’t know about Patrick,” said Karanka. “He trained on Tuesday well, but he couldn’t train (yesterday). I will have to check with him and the doctor to see how he is. It is one muscle next to the ankle (that is causing concern).”

Had Boro not conceded a dramatic late goal at Fulham, they would have been heading into tomorrow’s game with an outside chance of overhauling Bournemouth to squeeze into the top two.

As it is, the difference between the two clubs’ goal difference means the Cherries are assured of a place in the Premier League, but Karanka would not change his decision to send Dimi Konstantopoulos forward for a corner and feels both Bournemouth and Watford fully merit their place in the top-flight.

“The players gave their best in every single minute,” he said. “And if we have not got promotion directly, it is because we are not ready to get promotion and there were two teams who were better than us.

“It is fair to say that Bournemouth and Watford were better than us, and I congratulate both managers. They were better than us, and now we have to fight for our chance (to join them).”