THE injury that meant Marcus Forss had to be withdrawn in the second half against Sunderland isn't a major concern, says Michael Carrick - with the Finnish forward having again demonstrated his importance with another goal.

Forss has now scored three times in three games since his return from injury and his second half strike looked set to give Boro a derby win until Nazariy Rusyn's late equaliser.

Tom Glover was at fault for the leveller, letting a tame shot squirm under his body at the front post, but Carrick was quick to stress he won't point the finger of blame and backed the Aussie to quickly put the error behind him.

“We can’t put the spotlight on just one player, we have to take responsibility as a team," said Carrick.

“Tom is fine. He’s all right. Everybody has moments and ups and downs in football. He’s made some big saves for us and been a good presence in the team in recent weeks. He’ll move on from that pretty quickly, I’m sure."

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The equaliser came shortly after Forss had been withdrawn with a minor injury, but Carrick's verdict was upbeat.

He said: “He got a knock. I think he’s all right. I’ve not really seen too much of him yet, but I do think he’s all right. Hopefully he will be because I think that was another big step for him again today."

Matt Crooks was missing for Boro.

Carrick explained: "He got an elbow in his hip on Tuesday so he hasn't trained all week."