STEWART DOWNING’S future at Middlesbrough is hanging in the balance after falling out with head coach Aitor Karanka.

Downing has not been involved in either of Boro’s last two games against Manchester City in the FA Cup or at Stoke City in the Premier League.

The former England winger, who rejoined his hometown club in the summer of 2015 from West Ham, is understood to have asked Karanka why he had been left out of the squad which travelled to Stoke ten days ago.

Downing fears he may never play for the club again while Karanka is in charge, particularly after the Spaniard’s comments about his absence in the aftermath of the FA Cup exit to Manchester City.

The Middlesbrough boss has made it clear to Downing and the rest of the squad he wants players he can trust in the battle to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Karanka wants to rely on those he thinks are up for the ‘fight’ and even handed Gaston Ramirez –who was booed at the Riverside after below par performances since his request to join Leicester was rejected in January – a place ahead of local lad Downing.

Ramirez, the manager suggested, and the other 17 players involved on Saturday, has shown greater fight than Downing and £6m January buy Patrick Bamford.

Downing has struggled to hold down his place under Karanka and was left exposed on his last start when he was asked to play wing-back against Crystal Palace on February 27.

The 32-year-old would be the first to admit he has rarely hit the heights he would have liked in terms of performance since returning to Teesside, although Karanka has never placed that much faith in playing him – certainly in the top-flight.

It would be a big surprise to see Downing force his way back into the reckoning for the visit of Jose Mourinho and Manchester United to the Riverside, even if Karanka is desperate for options in the fight for Premier League survival.

The latest Downing twist has arrived just two months after it seemed he was on his way out of the club again, having been told he could leave during the January window. He had plenty of options, from home and abroad, and Crystal Palace were keen to strike a deal for him.

However, Middlesbrough were reluctant to let him join a rival at the wrong end of the table, while Downing didn’t want to drop back down to the Championship. The stand-off in terms of the January deals ended with him staying put.

Karanka, who is under pressure after failing to end a slump stretching back three months, is in need of having fully fit players to call on and Downing’s experience of the top-flight would certainly help.

Middlesbrough are three points shy of safety and struggling for goals, highlighted by the poorest return in front of goal after scoring just 19 times this season in the league; they have not scored in any of their last four league games.

Karanka hopes injuries to striker Rudy Gestede and defender Bernardo Espinosa are not serious. Both were forced off early against Manchester City.

Gestede limped off with a hamstring injury so is unlikely to be fit to face Manchester United and there has been a reluctance to play Bamford.

Espinosa has increased the concerns defensively too because he limped off with an ankle complaint and had to be replaced by teenager Dael Fry.

Calum Chambers and George Friend are sidelined and not expected to play until after the international break. Daniel Ayala also missed the visit of City with a hamstring problem, so there is a shortage of options at the back.

Bamford joined on the back of 18 months without playing regularly during loans to Crystal Palace, Norwich and Burnley from Chelsea.

When Karanka was asked if the forward could play for the Under-23s to build up his fitness and performance levels, he said: “I don't want to force them. They know that if they are not playing with the Under-23s it's not a problem, if they want to play they can play.”