DANIEL AYALA will miss Middlesbrough’s trip to MK Dons tomorrow but Aitor Karanka hopes to have the key defender back for the next Championship game.

Tomas Kalas is the favourite to slot in to the heart of the defence at the Stadium: MK after Karanka turned to him at the end of the first half of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn.

Ayala hurt his ankle in the game and has been assessed over the last 48 hours to determine the extent of the problem.

Karanka, whose side play Leeds a week today said: “He can’t play for sure. It’s not serious so I hope he can train as soon as possible with the team but he will not be available on Tuesday.

“I would have liked another week or ten days so that Dani and George Friend can recover. But we have a game and we have other players to play, and it is nice to play so soon after a game because you can lose intensity if you don’t play as much.

“We have Alex Baptiste, Rhys Williams, Tomas Kalas and Dael Fry who can all play there to replace Dani. Having four players like that means it is not a problem. Dani is a good player but I am sure we can win games without him.”

Middlesbrough have collected just one point from the last nine available to surrender a handsome lead at the top of the Championship, where they now sit second and level on points with leaders Hull.

Middlesbrough play their game in hand at MK Dons and no other teams in the division are playing in midweek so it is an opportunity to reclaim top spot.

He said: “We are in a privileged position. MK Dons are fighting to stay in the Championship. They played really well against us, it was tough for us. It will be a tough challenge but we have to go there and try to recover our consistency and performance on the pitch.

“A lot of things have happened in the last month. I would be concerned if our run had happened when it was not last month.

“We have had the MK Dons game rearranged until tomorrow because of the FA Cup, we have had players leaving and four or five come in.

“But I am not concerned and I am happy to be at this stage now. We can focus on football again.”

Karanka, who has been unimpressed by his side’s performance in the last three games, has promised to make a “few changes” and both Gaston Ramirez and Jordan Rhodes are expected to start.

Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton are a booking away from a two-match ban so the Middlesbrough boss is weighing up whether to hand another new recruit, Julien de Sart, his debut.

Karanka said: “Julien is a midfielder. He is our player, which is the best thing because he is not a loan like Jack Stephens or Bruno Zuculini. He has a really good future and he is our player.”