JUNINHO is buzzing about the prospect of kick-starting his Middlesbrough career tonight.

The World Cup winner will make his return to action in a reserves fixture with Bradford City in front of an expected 20,000 crowd at the Riverside.

Juninho has not played since suffering a serious knee ligament injury in a pre-season friendly in Italy and he will make his comeback this evening.

And Boro boss Steve McClaren revealed last night that the Brazilian can't wait to play on the Teesside turf again.

"He is excited about playing at the Riverside again and hopefully it will stand him in good stead for his first team return," said McClaren.

"We're delighted to see Juninho back in a Boro shirt.

"His rehab has been long and hard but he has been working extremely hard to regain his fitness and I know he has been chomping at the bit to play ever since he returned to training two weeks ago."

The 29-year-old was a bargain summer buy for £3.8m from Atletico Madrid and, provided he comes through the game unscathed, he is expected to play some part in Saturday's clash with Everton.

Juninho is yet to kick a ball competitively in his third spell on Teesside.

And he will be joined in the Boro second-string by Ugo Ehiogu, who has battled back from an injury of his own. The towering centre-back has not played since suffering a punctured lung and fractured ribs in the defeat at Ewood Park on New Year's Day.

Meanwhile, Boro defender Chris Riggott thought all his birthdays came at once when he grabbed his first goals for his new club on Saturday.

The former Derby County man scored Boro's first two in a 3-1 win over Sunderland.

But Riggott admitted he was just as pleased to see fellow new-boy Malcolm Christie get off the mark when he slotted in Boro's third.

"That just capped the day off for me," said Riggott. "To score two personally was great, but to see your mate score as well - I know what it meant to him, it's a big thing for strikers to score, especially for your new club.

"It builds confidence and I sprinted the length of the pitch just to jump on him and hopefully he can go on from there."

He added: "It was a great experience for me, great to get the buzz in a big game, I thought it was my birthday."

* Admission is free for all season ticket holders tonight and is just £1 for other fans. All under-16s must be accompanied by an adult.

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