Middlesbrough forward Rudy Gestede has suffered a muscular injury and has been ruled for the next few weeks, according to the Northern Echo.

The 31-year-old only returned to the bench to face Birmingham City last Friday after recovering from a hamstring problem that he picked up in the last international break whilst away with his country.

This latest injury actually meant Gestede couldn’t even be included in Benin’s squad for their game against Guinea-Bissau on Sunday, and he will stay on Teeside for further treatment.

The striker will not feature against West Brom in eight days time, and it’s likely that he’ll also be missing when Boro travel to Huddersfield the following Wednesday.

Manager Jonathan Woodgate has very few options up front, with Britt Assombalonga being heavily relied upon to score goals. The 26-year-old has scored four goals in his 12 appearances so far.

However, Middlesbrough have generally struggled to hit the back of the net this season, having scored just 11 in 11 league games. It has led to speculation that they’ll try to sign another forward in January.