FOR Michael Carrick, one positive to emerge from the rotten recent luck on the injury front is the fact it's given the Middlesbrough head coach the opportunity to include academy youngsters in his matchday squad.

Fin Cartwright and Law McCabe have both been involved in recent weeks, with the latter signing a new long-term deal after making his first team debut from the bench in the 4-0 win over Preston. And with Josh Coburn missing out on Wednesday night against Hull City, Daniel Nkrumah, the 20-year-old who joined from Leyton Orient in the summer, was named on the bench.

Carrick takes great delight in giving youngsters their first taste of senior football and even when when his first team squad is bolstered by the return from injury of several senior players, the academy youngsters will still be very much in his thoughts.

"For every kind of setback or negativity in terms of missing players, there is always a positive. In this instance it’s young players getting opportunities," said Carrick.

"Whether that’s training, whether that’s being on the bench or just travelling with the group to get that experience, it’s that next step for those boys. That process is something I really enjoy seeing them going through.

"Of course you want to try to get them on the pitch as well at some point, but even when they don’t, the experience these boys are getting from the other parts will hopefully benefit them, whether it’s soon or it’s a little bit further down the line. That’s exactly why they’re here and it’s exactly what this club is built for - to give younger players a chance."

Boro have a rich academy history and Carrick wants to play his part in the club continuing to produce homegrown first team players.

The head coach has closely monitored the academy age groups and worked closely with Craig Liddle since his arrival. He was at the Stadium of Light last night for the FA Youth Cup defeat to Sunderland.

Earlier this week, the Under-21s thumped Crystal Palace 4-0, with young striker Calum Kavanagh hitting all four goals. The Irishman is now averaging better than a goal a game this season.

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Carrick will continue to closely monitor Boro's young players and hopes - when the time is right - to dish out more opportunities over the course of the season.

Speaking generally about how he assesses the youngsters, Carrick said: “There is a lot you’re looking at. Your natural eye will always tell you an awful lot: how they fit in, how they settle. Sometimes it can be assessing their level of comfort in terms of, do they look like they can be part of the group in terms of their personality and character and taking on that extra expectation.

"We’ve had a good training session there this morning with quite a few of the younger players and it’s great to see. It’s great for them to train with the squad and see for themselves what the standard is. Talent is always a big thing, of course. You have to be able to cope, for sure. But as well as that, it’s the attitude and how you behave and look after yourself around the group. That’s very important as well.

“It’s not particularly easy to judge when they’re ready. I’m not speaking about anyone specifically here, but sometimes you can be a player who looks nailed on. They’re coming through the system and everyone thinks, ‘that’s the next best player for the first team’. But sometimes, until you actually get that chance to train with the first team and make that step onto the pitch, it’s not easy to judge how they’ll handle it.

"Talent and ability is fantastic to have, but you’ve got to be able to handle it and cope in that situation. Sometimes you never really know. It can equally work the other way where there are players you don’t really think but suddenly they get an opportunity for whatever reason and they take it on and jump to the next level.

"It’s always part of the challenge for us at the club to try and judge that and who is ready to make that next step. They have to be ready. We can’t put them in before they are because that wouldn’t do them justice either."