MIDDLESBROUGH will be boosted by the return of Marcus Forss this weekend, with the forward set to be included in the squad for the FA Cup third round tie against Blackburn.

Forss has only made four substitute appearances this season and has been out of action since the league defeat to Rovers in November.

It's been a hugely frustrating spell for the Finn, who saw last season ended prematurely after he suffered a hamstring injury, again, ironically, against Blackburn, back in March. Forss was sidelined for seven months and his return to action was short lived and disrupted by further setbacks.

But after a decent spell on the training pitch, Forss is now ready and available to return.

"Marcus is back in the squad on Saturday," head coach Michael Carrick confirmed.

"He's been training for a number of days now. He was out for a few weeks but he's back fit."

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Forss is the only injured player expected to be available to return this weekend, with Carrick stressing the need for caution with those who have been out of action.

Aidan Morris and Luke Ayling are making good progress, with Carrick hopeful of positive news on the pair next week ahead of the Championship trip to Portsmouth.

Tommy Conway is further behind in his recovery from a hamstring injury, Jonny Howson isn't yet back in training and Seny Dieng remains unavailable.

Carrick said: "They're slowly coming back. We'll make a call on it for this week. Aidan and Luke will be more next week, they're a little bit further away. We'll be a little bit careful with some of them this week."

Seny Dieng, Alex Bangura, Darragh Lenihan and Tommy Smith are long-term absentees.