Out-of-contract star may have sealed Middlesbrough future v QPR | OneFootball

Jonny Howson may have helped secure his Middlesbrough future with a stellar performance vs the R's.

Middlesbrough fans' cries for 'one more year Jonny Howson' may well be answered following his QPR performance.

Boro made it three wins from their last four Championship outings on Tuesday night, with a 2-1 win over the R's at the Riverside Stadium.

Michael Carrick is dealing with an unprecedented number of injuries in the heart of his defence, with Middlesbrough being unable to field any fit centre-backs against the Hoops.

That meant that central midfielder Howson, at 36 and having not started a game for the Teessiders since December last year, would be tasked with becoming a makeshift central defender.

Having only just returned from a lengthy injury absence, the veteran midfielder and club captain Howson was partnered alongside Neto Borges, a left-back by trade in the middle of Boro's back four.

Speaking post-match via BBC Tees, Carrick revealed that Howson shouldn't even have played any part in the game in an ideal world.

He said: "He shouldn't have played, it was a big gamble.

"He's arguably still injured and has barely trained with us. He put himself forward, came and spoke to me and said he'd give me everything he can. His performance sums him up."

Injured? Nobody watching his performance that night would've assumed that.

Boro's skipper delivered an emphatic reminder as to how important a player he still is in Carrick's team, as he put in arguably one of the best individual performances of any Middlesbrough centre-back, natural or unnatural, so far this campaign.

He dealt with QPR's big centre-forward Michael Frey superbly well, so much so that Marti Cifuentes hooked his top scorer at 2-0 down with 66 minutes gone.

Howson passed every defensive test with flying colours, whilst also stepping into midfield and embarking on the odd drive up the pitch that Middlesbrough fans have become so used to seeing from central midfield during his near eight seasons with the club.

Performances like QPR will surely make it hard for Middlesbrough not to offer Howson fresh terms

Having arrived from Norwich City in the summer of 2017, Howson has established himself as a modern-day Middlesbrough hero over the course of what will be his eighth season on Teesside when the curtain falls on the 2024/25 campaign.

Up until this term, the industrious midfielder had seldom missed a game for Boro, with 43 appearances in all competitions being the lowest number of matches he's played over his previous seven seasons on Teesside.

However, injuries have crept into his game this year, with the QPR win being just his 13th outing in all competitions so far this season.

Given the fact he's out of contract in the summer, many Middlesbrough supporters were becoming resigned to the fact that they would be saying goodbye to their midfield maestro at the end of the campaign.

But, a showing as inspired as that one provided strong evidence to suggest that he may not be ready to ride into the Riverside sunset just yet.

Howson proved that the engine light hasn't come on, with enough left in the tank to still put in man of the match performances out of position in the second tier.

So, it may well be a case of Howson feeling ready to retire in the summer regardless of whether he could play another season, but if he's not ready to hang the boots up, then performances like QPR could make it very hard for Middlesbrough not to present him with a fresh contract extension.