Courageous Gary defies the pain for Boro cause.

Byline: ANTHONY VICKERS

MIDFIELD terrier Gary O'Neil will play through the pain barrier to prove his commitment to Boro.

O'Neil has put off a hernia operation to get Boro through an engine room injury crisis and admits he will pay the price in the days to come.

But he insists he is ready to live with the pain to repay the faith boss Gareth Southgate has shown in him.

In a storming first half against Swansea, O'Neil closed down quickly, crashed into tackles and showed neat distribution to help swing the game decisively Boro's way but he revealed he expects to suffer in the aftermath.

"It felt OK during the game," said industrious O'Neil after turning in a man-of-the-match performance in Boro's 3-0 win at Swansea.

"I've worked hard with the physios over the last week and been taking some pain-killing tablets in the build-up but the real test is getting ready for Tuesday.

"It's okay when you have a full week to prepare and control it but it tends to be really painful and sore a day or two after a game so I might really feel it at Scunthorpe on Tuesday.

"But we have a plan to get me through the next few weeks and then I'll have the operation in the international break."

O'Neil decided last week to delay his scheduled surgery after Didier Digard picked up a the groin injury in the opener against Sheffield United, a blow that left Boro woefully short of experience in the middle.

He now intends to soldier on and go under the knife in September's international break to reduce the impact on the team.

"It is a fairly straightforward operation and then two or three weeks' recovery time so hopefully I'll only miss the one game, either Ipswich or Bristol City," he explained.

O'Neil has been linked with a return to former club Portsmouth throughout his time at Boro and since relegation he has been linked with both Everton and Fulham.

But his decision to scrap surgery until after the transfer window closes sends out a strong signal that he intends to stay on Teesside - and he's happy with that.

"I'm a Middlesbrough player and will do whatever I can to help the club," he said.

"The club have shown a lot of faith in me and I want to repay that. They paid a lot of money for me and pay me big wages - as far as I am concerned I want to give everything I can every time I pull on the shirt."

Meanwhile flanker Adam Johnson has admitted that his first half opener took a deflection off a defender but is claiming the goal nevertheless.

"It wasn't an own goal, no way," insisted Johnson. "When I hit it, it was definitely on target. It took a slight nick as he came sliding in but not enough to matter. It was already going in, I'm definitely claiming it."