Middlesbrough have confirmed that Ryan Shotton has played his last game for the club, as per their official website.
Shotton, along with the likes of Marvin Johnson, George Friend and Adam Clayton penned short-term contract extensions at the Riverside last month, to ensure that they could play until the end of the campaign.
The 31-year-old was taken off after picking up an injury against Bristol City at the weekend, though, being replaced by Marcus Tavernier on 66 minutes.
Have these 9 things happened to Middlesbrough this season?
The defender was subsequently unavailable for last night's clash with Reading, and with now only two games remaining this season, Shotton has now left the club.
Neil Warnock has confirmed that the reasoning behind Shotton's departure is that the defender feels vulnerable, and a potential aggravation of the injury could ruin 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,” said Boro boss Neil Warnock.
"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."
Boro weren't left to miss Shotton last night, though, as Warnock's side picked up an invaluable 2-1 win at Reading, courtesy of goals from Ashley Fletcher and Patrick Roberts.
They now sit 17th in the Sky Bet Championship table, five points clear of the relegation zone at present.
The Verdict
You can understand Shotton's thinking and it could have impacted Boro's chances of survival, too.
If Shotton isn't fit, then Warnock cannot afford to throw him in and potentially worsen his injury, and you can see why the player doesn't want to risk playing too.
If he makes his injury a lot worse, then it could ruin his chances of finding another club, so from a personal point of view, it makes sense unfortunately.