Neil Warnock has revealed he did not want to rush Sam Morsy back into the side for the clash with Norwich City at the weekend in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Egyptian international has been a regular for Boro since leaving Wigan Athletic in the summer window but has missed the last handful of games.

He is back near to full fitness now, though, but Warnock decided it would be best - with the number of games on the horizon - to leave him out at the weekend against the Canaries.

Quoted by the Teesside Gazette, the Boro manager said:

"He just felt it a bit so we didn’t want to risk him with the games coming up. We just want to make sure he’s right.

"I won’t rush him back."

The Verdict

Morsy is the sort of player that would only sit out if he really had to and it appears that Warnock is eager to bring him back in gradually without aggravating things further.

He has been a key player for Boro so far this season in the middle of the park but in these testing times it is important to not rush players back as the frequency of the matches means risk of recurring injury is higher than normal.

Time will tell, then, as to whether Morsy is back for Boro later on this week when they take on Derby County on Wednesday.