MIDDLESBROUGH captain Jonny Howson looks set to miss the final game of the season against Coventry City, with the midfielder having not trained at all this week.

And Ryan Giles remains a major doubt for Boro, with the wing-back "touch and go", according to head coach Michael Carrick.

Aaron Ramsey also doesn't appear to be any closer to a first team return, with the winger sidelined with an ankle injury and having returned to Aston Villa for some treatment last weekend.

Carrick was again reluctant to give too much away on the condition and availability of his injured stars, including Dael Fry and Marcus Forss, and said, while Boro medics are doing their utmost get his sidelined players back in action as quickly as possible, he's focusing on those who are fit and ready to play their part in the coming play-off campaign.

There was, however, some positive news, with Carrick revealing that Paddy McNair, Riley McGree and Tommy Smith all came through their return to action at Rotherham unscathed.

McNair was due to be on the bench at the New York Stadium but was called into the starting XI at the last minute after Howson picked up an injury in the warm-up, while Wolves loanee Giles was also absent.

"Jonny hasn't trained yet and Gilo is touch and go with where he's at and how it's going to settle down," said Carrick, providing an update on the pair at his press conference on Friday afternoon.

"It's the same with all the boys, we're trying our utmost to get them fit. It's part of the game and timing isn't always kind to you in a football sense. We just have to make the most of what we've got.

"We obviously have a number of injuries. It's not ideal in terms of the timing and having players out.

"I'm not dismissing the players who are injured, they know I love them to bits, but it's about who is fit and available. If we can get other players fit then that's fantastic, but we'll go with what we've got and I really believe we're in good shape.

"We'll see what we can do about getting the boys back as and when, they're at different stages. We'll keep our fingers crossed on that but we'll make the most of the opportunity in front of us with the players that we have."

Having been pictured back at Villa last weekend, Carrick was asked whether Ramsey is now back at Rockliffe or still at the base of his parent club.

The head coach said: "We're working together, so there's a little bit of both. We're just trying to make the best of it."

Ramsey was enjoying a patch of fine form and getting better by the game when he suffered an injury against his former club Norwich in the middle of last month.

Carrick won't be drawn on whether Ramsey is likely to have played his last game for Boro, but said: "It's unfortunate, it really is. Hopefully if AJ carries on the way he's going he'll have a long and successful career.

"Unfortunately, injuries are part of the game. They never come at a good time, but they can come at better times than others, but then that's part of the experience for him.

"It's not great for us because he's a terrific footballer and we'd love to have him to choose from but for him personally it's a tough one to take but he'll be better for it in the long run to learn from his experience and he's good enough person and stable enough to do that and benefit from it."

Having returned against Rotherham, McNair, McGree and Smith are available for the visit of Coventry.

"The boys are fine," said Carrick.

"Paddy played a bit more than we'd hoped for but ultimately in the end he benefited from it. It was good to get Riley back and get some good minutes because he'd missed a bit. Tommy hadn't missed as much, but they all came through fine."