Middlesbrough have confirmed via their official website that Ryan Shotton has played his last game for the club and has left the Riverside Stadium.

The 31-year-old made 84 appearances during his time at Boro - 21 of those coming in 2019/20 - since arriving from Birmingham City in 2017.

Shotton, along with the likes of George Friend, Adam Clayton and Marvin Johnson, penned short-term contract extensions last month to ensure that they could play for the remainder of the campaign.

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But the defender picked up an injury in the weekend defeat to Bristol City, and has now left the club a week before his contract at the Riverside was set to expire.

Neil Warnock has revealed that the reasoning behind Shotton's premature departure is due to the player not wanting to aggravate his injury, which could potentially affect his chances of finding a new club.

Warnock said: "Ryan was absolutely fantastic against Millwall last week and he gave us everything against Bristol City at the weekend.

"He was feeling an injury during the second half so we brought him off because we didn’t want to make it worse. This is our third game in less than a week and Ryan wouldn’t have played against Reading.

"With him not being 100% fit, he feels vulnerable to an injury that could prevent him getting him a contract elsewhere. I’m disappointed, but I fully understand his thinking."

Shotton has been a reliable figure in defence this term, but will now be on the lookout for a new club after what has been a disappointing season for the Teesside club.

His absence didn't affect Boro on Tuesday night, though, as they moved up to 17th and five points clear of the relegation zone following a 2-1 win away at Reading.

Here, though, we take a look at Boro fans' reactions to this latest news...