Stewart Downing was involved in a furious training-ground bust-up with manager Aitor Karanka and his future at Middlesbrough is now in doubt.
Sportsmail can reveal the pair clashed in the build-up to Saturday's 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-final, a match for which Downing was excluded from the squad.
Karanka, when asked afterwards why he had left him out, said: ‘I need 18 fighters’. The Spaniard’s comments stem from the argument in the days leading up to the game.
We understand that Downing wanted to know why he was not involved the previous weekend at Stoke - another 2-0 defeat - and sources tell us Karanka responded by telling the former England international he wanted players he could trust.