GEORGE FRIEND is confident that Middlesbrough can bounce back from their disappointment at Hull City – and thinks that the international break is a good opportunity to recharge the batteries.

Boro were second best in all departments at the KC Stadium on Saturday, losing 3-0 to Steve Bruce’s side, who outlined their own promotion credentials while highlighting some of the weaknesses of Aitor Karanka’s charges.

And Friend, conscious of the fact Boro similarly stuttered going into the last international break with defeat at Reading, thinks that the opportunity to rest legs before next Friday’s home game against Queens Park Rangers will be a good one.

"Having competition in all the areas and having some big characters back will be important,” said Friend. “We've got a few niggles and it'll be good for them to be rested ahead of the Friday night game against QPR because we need to spring back from this and I'm sure we will.

“We started a lot better (against Hull) than in the Reading game, but the score doesn't look good. But we can't dwell on it or get down on it, we have to stay positive and have faith in a good squad. We can create chances and hopefully we'll finish them in the next match.

“We've got so much energy in this squad, the lads will be raring to go. They won't like having to wait two weeks for a game so they'll be up for games after a break.

“I hope we can react from it and I'm sure we will.”

Defeat in Humberside was only Boro’s third of the season following reverses at the Madjeski Stadium and against Bristol City earlier in the campaign. Their previous good form has kept them in touch with the league leaders and while Saturday’s defeat was their first test against one of the division’s frontrunners, Friend feels that there are plenty more opportunities to right the wrongs.

"I think throughout the season we've changed a few of our hoodoo games away at Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday,” said Friend.

"The build-up to this game was because we would've gone above Hull if we'd beaten them but it wasn't a make or break game like the Norwich and the play-off final.

"We've got a lot more experience than last season and we're just disappointed as the scoreline didn't reflect the game.”

Meanwhile, Boro officials remain furious at Cristhian Stuani's potential involvement with Uruguay in the current round of international fixtures, but the club have avoided a second South American row after Fernando Amorebieta was formally withdrawn from the Venezuela squad.

Amorebieta damaged his groin in last weekend's 3-0 defeat to Hull City and has remained on Teesside rather than return to his homeland to report for international duty.

The centre-half, who played against Brazil in the last international break, was due to have taken part in Venezuela's forthcoming World Cup qualifiers with Bolivia and Ecuador.

However, the Venezuelan authorities have agreed to his omission from the squad, and Boro officials are hoping he will have completed his recovery in time to take part in the club's next Championship game against QPR on November 20.

Boro head coach Aitor Karanka said: "He finished the Hull game with a little problem. He had a scan on Monday and we sent that to Venezuela – in the same way we did to Uruguay with Stuani and all other players.

"Our doctor was in touch with theirs and we decided to keep the player here because he wasn’t available to play those games."

Stuani, however, has travelled to Uruguay, with his international coach, Oscar Tabarez, currently pondering whether to play him in this week's games with Ecuador and Chile.

Boro officials had not been expecting Stuani to be available for first-team duty until the start of December at the earliest.