Middlesbrough boss hails impact of key duo ahead of their Cardiff City return

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Neil Warnock has hailed the influence of Middlesbrough duo Sol Bamba and Lee Peltier ahead of the trio’s return to their former club Cardiff City.

Boro head to Cardiff for the 12.30pm Saturday Championship tie looking to build on their back-to-back wins over Peterborough United and Barnsley.

On Wednesday evening, Boro claimed maximum points for the second home game inside five days to climb up to 10th with a 2-0 win over the Tykes.

Slovenian Andraz Sporar headed the home side ahead in the 20th minute with his second goal since arriving on loan from Sporting Lisbon.

With three minutes remaining, Matt Crooks headed in a crucial second to seal the points.

Saturday sees Warnock, Bamba and Peltier return to their former club Cardiff City.

Warnock said: “It’s about getting all the lads relaxed and working through any knocks.

“It’s a lot to ask for lads like Sol and Pelts, but they have come through well enough at the minute.

“It would have been easy for Sol to walk away, he had offers to go into television and things like that. But he just loves being a footballer.

“It was a favour really when I brought him in but he’s got himself back to fitness and he’s playing well.

“They say about who you’d want in the trenches, I’d have Peltier one side and Bamba the other.”

Andraz Sporar was forced off in the midweek win over Barnsley and remains a doubt.

Warnock added: “I’m going to have a chat with Andraz today.

“He didn’t train yesterday. I’ll have a look at him and see what the situation is.

“Other than that, I don’t see anyone else who has been injured coming back for a few weeks yet.”

He added: “We’ve been frustrating at times but that’s us - we’re not lethal, so it can be nail-biting.

“It’s a bit of chaos in terms of the injuries but I’ve told the lads to try and enjoy it.

"It think that’s what they’ve done, they’ve enjoyed training and taken that into the games,” added the Boro boss ahead of the lunchtime kick-off.