MIDDLESBROUGH insisted last night that Stewart Downing, the injured midfield player, will be fit for the start of the new Barclays Premiership season. The 20-year-old undergoes exploratory knee surgery this morning after his early return from the England tour to the United States, where he suffered the injury in training.

Early assessments have failed to reveal the extent of the damage caused by the player badly jarring his left knee in a seemingly innocuous fall. The new Premiership campaign begins on August 13, when Middlesbrough will seek to build on the seventh-place finish of last season.

A club spokesman said: “An early assessment was inconclusive and it was felt an arthroscopy would reveal the exact extent of any damage. At this stage it’s still felt that Downing will be fully fit to begin the new season.”

Downing played a key part throughout last season, scoring six times as Middlesbrough sealed the final Uefa Cup place on offer through the Premiership with a 1-1 draw away to Manchester City on the last day of the season. His sustained run of good form earned a first England cap in the goalless friendly match against Holland at Villa Park in February, a tally that Downing had hoped to add to in the two-game trip to the US, until injury intervened.

If Downing’s injury layoff extends into next season, it will come as a blow to Steve McClaren, the manager, who is in the process of retooling his strike force after signing Yakubu Ayegbeni from Portsmouth. Stephen Appiah, the Inter Milan midfield player, is another target for McClaren.

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