GEORGE FRIEND and Gaston Ramirez remain major injury doubts for Middlesbrough’s penultimate home game of the Championship season.

Boro entertain Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon knowing that if they win their remaining three matches, they will be guaranteed a place in the Premier League.

However, they could well be lining up without Friend, who damaged his hamstring in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Burnley, and Ramirez, who injured his calf in the same game.

Friend is understood to be carrying the more serious injury, and with both players due to be assessed tomorrow, Karanka admits their participation against Ipswich continues to hang in the balance.

The Boro head coach said: “I don’t know if they will be okay or not. We had a recovery session yesterday and the players had today off.

“I need to speak with them tomorrow, but we have to play with players who are 100 per cent fit. If Gaston and George are 100 per cent, they will play, but if they can’t play, we have other players who can come in in their position. But of course both of them are important players for us.”

Tuesday’s draw at Turf Moor left Boro two points clear of both Burnley and Brighton, but with Sean Dyche’s side travelling to Preston tomorrow, the Teessiders could have ceded top spot by the time they line up against Ipswich.

Nevertheless, Karanka remains confident his side will get the job done, and is determined to remain as calm as possible despite the pressure continuing to mount.

He said: “We are in a really good position, especially after our last game against Burnley. We showed that we were better than them, and played in the way that we have been playing for the last six or seven games.

“For that reason, I am really pleased and really calm about the future. With this kind of players, you can always be calm.”