a club where he could live with his wife. The intention of the loan deal was that Zemmama's wife would be 18 years old by the time it expired, making her able to enter the UK. However, after Zemmama moved to Al-Shaab, the Government increased the age at which brides could enter the UK to 21, throwing Zemmama's return to Hibernian into doubt. Zemmama returned to Edinburgh for the start of the 2009–10 season, however, in the belief that his wife and young son would be allowed to live in Edinburgh. Return to Hibernian After returning from the loan to Al-Shaab, Zemmama again became a "key influence" in the Hibs team. He suffered injury problems during the 2009–10 season, however, and was ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering cruciate ligament damage during a match against Falkirk on 27 March. That match had been his comeback from unrelated injuries that had prevented him from starting a game since 17 February. Manager John Hughes admitted in August that he did not expect Zemmama to return before Christmas, as he had not yet commenced jogging exercises as part of his rehabilitation. Zemmama, whose contract with Hibs was due to expire at the end of the 2010–11 season, returned to full training in December. Middlesbrough Zemmama signed for Middlesbrough on 31 January 2011. He agreed a contract to the end of the 2013–14 season, having been transferred for a fee reported to be around £200,000. He made his debut against Swansea City. In his second appearance, against Millwall, he set up goals for Scott McDonald and Leroy Lita. Zemmama scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 win against Derby County. Zemmama scored in Middlesbrough's League Cup defeat to Crystal Palace. In April 2012, Zemmama scored the winning goal in a match against Southampton, which kept Middlesbrough's chance of promotion alive. It was reported that Zemmama had refused to travel if he was amongst the substitutes in the final matchday against Watford; Mowbray subsequently withdrew him from his travelling squad. Zemmama scored his third Boro goal, and his first goal of the 2012–13 campaign on 25 August 2012 against Crystal Palace with a free-kick which flew past the Palace wall and then beat Julian Speroni. On 25 September 2012, Zemmama scored a 25-yard goal against Preston North End in the League Cup, in which Middlesbrough progressed to the