MIDDLESBROUGH’S capture of Swansea loanee Dwight Tiendalli will ensure adequate right-back cover until the end of the season, with Tomas Kalas set to return to Chelsea before the end of the campaign.

Tiendalli joined for the remainder of the season ahead of Thursday’s Football League loan deadline, and the 29-year-old’s defensive versatility should make him a useful asset as the promotion battle reaches its climax.

He is primarily regarded as a right-back, and his arrival reflects a need to ensure sufficient options on the right-hand side of the back four in the final weeks of the season.

The terms of Kalas’ loan from Chelsea have not been explicitly revealed, but the Football League’s loan regulations are understood to have prevented Boro from signing the Czech international for the whole of the campaign.

Instead, he is set to miss the last couple of matches of the season, and would also be unavailable for the play-offs were the Teessiders to find themselves finishing outside the top two.

Chelsea would be willing to allow Kalas to play in those matches, but the rules preclude Boro extending the 21-year-old’s loan period beyond the initial cut-off point.

With Damia Abella’s position uncertain following his appearance in a Spanish court as part of a trial related to match fixing, and Rhys Williams ruled out until the start of next season at the earliest, Kalas’ departure would have left Boro short of options had Tiendalli not been signed.

Emilio Nsue has filled in at right-back on a number of occasions this season, but last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at Bournemouth witnessed arguably his worst performance in the role.

Ryan Fredericks should be available for the Easter double-header with Wigan and Watford, but he has only made six appearances since the end of November and Aitor Karanka did not want to leave himself in a position where he could have potentially been short.

Tiendalli can play at left-back, making him a possible deputy for George Friend, and has also slotted in at centre-half, enabling him to provide further cover in that area with ongoing doubts over the availability of Daniel Ayala and Jonathan Woodgate.

While Tiendalli arrived at Rockliffe Park on Thursday, Mustapha Carayol left Teesside to join Brighton on a temporary basis.

Carayol has signed a one-month loan at the Amex Stadium, but given that Brighton play Boro on the final day of the season, his stint on the south coast effectively ends on April 25.

He will return to Teesside at that stage, and will be eligible to play for Boro in the play-offs if such an eventuality arises.

This week’s developments mean he should now be match fit by the end of next month, as he should make six appearances for Brighton between now and then.

Had he remained on Teesside, his first-team opportunities would have been extremely limited, so Karanka has taken the opportunity to increase the winger’s chances of regular football over the next month, in the knowledge that he could yet prove a valuable asset if automatic promotion cannot be attained.