Bates has suffered four cruciate ligament injuries

Middlesbrough utility man Matthew Bates could be forced to travel to the USA to receive treatment for his latest cruciate ligament injury.

Bates, who has endured four cruciate injuries, suffered the setback in July's friendly at Carlisle and is keen to seek an opinion across the Atlantic.

"They do a new type of operation on the knee," he told BBC Tees.

"I want to get all the information I can gather from different surgeons to get the best operation for my knee."

Bates' absence will be a blow for Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate, as he prepares to launch the club's bid for promotion back to the Premier League.

However with the arrival of players such as Leroy Lita, Mark Yeates and Danny Coyne, Bates believes the squad can cope with the rigours of the Championship and expects more new faces to arrive on Teesside prior to the end of the transfer window.

"There's a good atmosphere around the squad, the players that are here want to be here, there might be a couple who don't but they're just getting on with the job but that's up to them and the manager to sort out.

"I think there'll be comings and goings before the deadline, and we need to get off to a good start, it's very important in the Championship.

"You need a good start, get the fans behind us and the players playing with confidence, and I think we can go well."

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