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Although it's believed to be a minor procedure, the 19 year old winger has returned to Liverpool for initial treatment.

While Middlesbrough hasn't entirely ruled out Doak playing again this season, with only 11 games left in the regular campaign, it's certainly a race against time for him to return.

It was thought that Doak was on the road to recovery, with Carrick noting that the Liverpool prospect was nearing a return and hinting he might have even resumed training this week when asked for an update ahead of last weekend's match against Derby County.

However, the thigh injury he sustained prior to the Sunderland game turned out to be more serious than initially anticipated and after further examination, it was decided that surgery would be necessary at this point to aid his recovery.

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It remains to be seen if that is realistic for Doak to feature.

Doak was forced to undergo knee surgery in December 2023, which ruled him out for most of the previous campaign with Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp