Downing out for Boro

Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing faces months on the sidelines as his home-town club attempt to stage an unlikely escape from relegation.

The 24-year-old will be a helpless onlooker for Sunday’s trip to West Ham after undergoing surgery today to pin a broken bone in his right foot, a procedure which will put him out of action until at least the start of pre-season training in July.