BEN GIBSON has been passed fit for Middlesbrough’s trip to Wigan Athletic on Saturday – but fellow centre-half Kenneth Omeruo will not be involved at the DW Stadium.

Gibson was at the heart of a major injury scare when he damaged his ankle and was substituted during the first half of England Under-21s’ 3-2 defeat to France on Monday evening.

At the time, it was feared he could require a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but he trained with the rest of the Boro squad this morning and will be available for Saturday’s game provided he does not suffer an adverse reaction in the next 24 hours.

“Ben is okay,” said Boro head coach Aitor Karanka. “We will have to wait for tomorrow to see how he is feeling, but I am hoping that he is going to be good for the weekend.

“I was worried (when he was first injured) because he is a very important player for us. I was a little bit concerned, but when I was speaking to him and he told me that he was okay, it was good for me.”

While Gibson should be part of the squad that travels across the Pennines tomorrow, Omeruo will not feature against Wigan as he is still to return from international duty in Nigeria.

The centre-half, who suffered an injury scare of his own over the weekend, was part of the Nigeria side that drew 2-2 with South Africa on Wednesday evening.

“I don’t think Ken is going to be here in time for the game on Saturday because he played yesterday,” said Karanka. “We are going to try to do everything we can to get him here, but at the moment, I don’t know if he will be able to arrive on time. He is still in Nigeria at the moment, and the travel will have an effect.”

Despite Omeruo’s best efforts, Wednesday’s result meant Nigeria were unable to qualify for January’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigeria needed to better Congo’s result in the final qualifier to secure a place in the finals in Equatorial Guinea, but Congo’s win in Sudan ensured they, rather than Nigeria, finished as runners-up in their group behind South Africa.

“It’s difficult because I know how he (Omeruo) will be feeling now,” said Karanka. “It is a very important tournament for African players, but if I am selfish, then it is good for the team. I don’t like to lose a player for one month, and now that will not be happening.”