MIDDLESBROUGH'S teenage full-back David Murphy last night revealed his determination to regain full fitness in double quick time.

The 18-year-old's full Premiership debut had to be cut short at Southampton on Saturday after sustaining medial knee ligament damage in a challenge with midfielder Chris Marsden.

And the Hartlepool-born left-back is having to face up to four to six weeks on the sidelines after a scan yesterday.

Murphy, who was called in to deputise for suspended Franck Queudrue, admitted it was a massive blow to have his first League start ended prematurely.

"It was really disappointing," he told the Northern Echo. "It's a bit of a relief to know that it is my medial ligament and not my cruciate.

"I'm already having two sessions a day with the physios.

"I'm just concentrating now on getting fit again and then I'll start to push for a first team place again. That's got to be my aim."

Boro boss Steve McClaren had to bring Colin Cooper on as the youngster's replacement after just 15 minutes and the more experienced defender proved his worth with a steady display at St Mary's.

And McClaren revealed he sympathised with Murphy, who had previously only had five substitute appearances in the top-flight.

"It was a blow for the lad," said McClaren. "I am really gutted for the lad because it was just a 50-50 tackle and Murphy came off worst. He had started the game really well."

McClaren will be frustrated to lose the highly-rated defender whom he saw as the perfect replacement for Queudrue.

The £2.5m Frenchman will complete his suspension when he sits out this Saturday's clash with Fulham. Cooper is favourite to fill the void again.

Murphy has been on crutches since the incident and he joins summer signing Juninho on the crocked list.

The 29-year-old Brazilian, who signed in a £3.8m deal from Atletico Madrid, is ruled out of action until at least January.

But Murphy revealed Juninho is keeping in good spirits despite his cruciate knee ligament nightmare, as he expects to see a top specialist in America.

And the former England Under-18 international is convinced that Boro will enjoy a good campaign following McClaren's captures during the summer.

The Boro chief has spent £19.45m on new blood - with George Boateng, Juninho, Queudrue, Geremi and Massimo Maccarone all putting pen-to-paper at the Riverside.

And Murphy said: "To lose Juninho was a setback because he is a world-class player.

"Even in the short time he was here before he got injured I could see just how good he is. He seems to be doing OK.

"But there has been a few new faces in the summer and it is a very strong squad. I think we'll be able to do well this season."

Meanwhile, Boro are expected to make a decision on Jesper Blomqvist's future by the end of this week. The Swedish winger is hoping to sign a 12-month contract on Teesside.

* Nigerian defender Taribo West has begun a ten-day training stint with Manchester City.

The former Derby man arrived for training at City's Carrington training ground yesterday morning, allowing manager Kevin Keegan the chance to take a look at the centre-back.

The Blues were caught cold by Leeds on Saturday and Keegan may be looking to add some depth to his squad in the heart of defence.

The 28-year-old has been unattached since his contract with German club Kaiserslautern was cancelled in April after a fall-out with the club.

West's career in Europe began at French side Auxerre in 1995, and he has had spells with both Inter and AC Milan as well as joining Derby between November 2000 and May 2001.

Keegan said: ''Taribo is not here on trial. We know what he is about and there is no doubting his ability. I am interested in looking at his fitness and will be doing that over the next ten days.''

West, who has 40 caps for Nigeria, played in two of his country's three games at the 2002 World Cup, the defeats against Argentina and Sweden.

City will have two days once the training period is over to complete a move for West before the August 31 transfer window closes.

* England keeper David Seaman has revealed how 5,000 letters of support received after his World Cup mishap against Brazil had helped him to recover from the personal torment.

Seaman has vowed not to let the incident ''destroy'' his career, while insisting that even the enormous pain did not compare with having been rejected by Leeds as a youngster.

The 38-year-old keeper was in tears at the end of England's quarter-final defeat by Brazil as he apologised to the nation for having been beaten by Ronaldinho's freak 30-yard free-kick.

There were fears that he could not only retire from international football but even stop playing altogether, and he admits that his mind was certainly in turmoil in the aftermath.

However, thousands of letters of support then started to flood in and Seaman was buoyed by the level of public backing.

''The response has been fantastic. I've had letters from all over the place. I've just got to say a big thank you," he revealed.

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