Middlesbrough's Karanka to miss Sunday's match after alleged bust-up

Middlesbrough has released a statement confirming that Aitor Karanka didn't report for training Saturday and will not oversee Sunday's trip to Charlton Athletic.

The news follows reports that the Spaniard was involved in a furious row Thursday with his players at the Rockcliffe Training Ground which, according to Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas, culminated in Karanka storming out and announcing he wasn't interested in managing them anymore.

The statement concludes: "We appreciate supporters will want to know further details, but at this time the club cannot make any further comment and is solely focused on Sunday's game at The Valley."

Assistant boss Steve Agnew will take the technical area in Charlton while Karanka is said to be considering his future on Teesside.

The former Real Madrid defender has had rows with first-team members Albert Adomah and Stewart Downing earlier in the season.

For much of the campaign Middlesbrough has looked a sure-fire bet for promotion, and Karanka further ingratiated himself with the club's fans with his sensitive response towards the closing of the nearby Redcar steelworks that rocked many in the region.

Things haven't fared so well recently though. The £9-million acquisition of striker Jordan Rhodes from Blackburn Rovers was meant to be the final cog in Boro's rise, but the team's drab record now stands at just three wins in 10 matches. Karanka's side is four points short of league leader Burnley.

Whether the disagreement at the training ground is related to the apparent interest from Valencia - which Karanka laughed off only this week - is unknown.