Middlesbrough star Martin Payero has been struggling with injury recently, and manager Chris Wilder has since delivered an update on the midfielder.
Payero joined Middlesbrough in the summer from Argentine side CA Talleres, and the 22-year-old left many fans excited about his arrival.
When he joined, the Boro manager at the time was Neil Warnock, who took his time with introducing him to the field.
Payero has since racked up just nine Championship appearances this season, scoring and assisting once, but he’s shown signs of what he is made of already.
The attacking midfielder has not yet featured under new boss Wilder, as he continues to struggle with an existing heel injury.
The Argentine returned to the matchday squad for the first time in over a month, as he could only be named as an unused substitute in Boro’s 1-0 win over Swansea City earlier this month.
Following that, Payero featured in a behind closed doors friendly with Huddersfield Town, scoring two goals, but his game came to an early end after the first 45 minutes after he picked up another knock.
He was then once again named as an unused substitute in Middlesbrough’s 0-0 draw to Stoke City on the weekend.
Wilder has a big job on his hands regarding Payero, as rushing him back may then again hit him with another set back.
As per TeessideLive, here is what Wilder had to say:
“Martin Payero scored two very good goals but we have to be really careful with him.
“Maybe the tempo and intensity of the Championship is something that he doesn’t automatically embrace, so we have to be careful with him.
“He only managed 45 minutes in the friendly against Huddersfield but it was good for me to be able to look and watch.”
It could be as late as New Year until we see the young starlet return to the starting XI, as he will have to take his time to get back up to speed.
Next up for Wilder’s Middlesbrough is a tough home tie against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon. The game at the Riverside kicking off at 12:30pm.
