RUDY GESTEDE has returned to full training with Middlesbrough, and could feature in the squad that takes on Bolton Wanderers tomorrow.

Gestede, who has been sidelined since suffering a serious ankle injury during pre-season, played for 66 minutes of today’s Under-23s win over West Brom.

The striker has suffered a series of injury setbacks in the last few months, with a fractured ankle sustained in February sidelining him for most of the second half of last season.

He was involved in the opening games of Boro’s pre-season schedule, but suffered more damage to his ankles in the first half of July’s 4-3 defeat at Accrington Stanley.

Last night’s appearance at Kidderminster’s Aggborough ground was his first appearance in more than two months, and he played for more than an hour as a strong Boro side claimed a 3-2 win.

Sam Stubbs, Ashley Fletcher and Marcus Tavernier were all on target for Boro’s second-string, with Sam McQueen also starting in what was his first appearance since signing on loan from Southampton.

Gestede’s return to action is a major boost given Boro’s failure to score in either of their last two matches. Britt Assombalonga has established himself as Tony Pulis’ first-choice striker in the opening month of the season, but the former Nottingham Forest forward struggled to make an impression as his side crashed to their first defeat of the season at Norwich on Saturday.

Jordan Hugill, a summer loan signing from West Ham United, played alongside him for the final 20 minutes, but also failed to trouble Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul as Boro suffered a 1-0 reverse.

With Martin Braithwaite back in the first-team fold after his failed attempt to engineer a deadline-day move to Spain, Boro boast a number of attacking options, but Gestede’s aerial ability and physical attributes set him apart from his fellow forwards.

Pulis likes to field a striker who can lead the line and retain possession with his back to goal, and Gestede fits that mould better than anyone else in the Boro squad. So while his record of six goals from 41 appearances in a Boro shirt hardly sets the pulse racing, he could find himself playing a prominent role sooner rather than later now he is approaching full fitness.

“Rudy was out for a long time,” said Pulis, who is still assessing his options ahead of the Bolton game. “He’s training and has had a week with us.

“I’ll speak to the doctor and get him moving. He’s getting close, which is good for us. He’s been training with us, he’s had a week’s training and having been out for three months, it’s a lot for him.”

Pulis had hoped to strengthen the supply line to his strikers in the final days of the Football League transfer window, but moves for a number of different players failed to come to fruition.

Former Boro winger Albert Adomah was close to securing a return to the Riverside on the deadline-day for loan signings, but despite the framework of a deal being agreed with Aston Villa, talks collapsed when financial issues proved problematic.

Adomah is due to become a free agent at the end of the season, but given that he will turn 31 before the end of the year, Boro will be reluctant to hold fresh talks in January.

“I gave him the opportunity to go there (to Middlesbrough), admitted Villa boss Steve Bruce. “But Albert has been great for me since I’ve been here.

“I’ve picked him more than most since I’ve been here. He plays almost every week, and now we have a bit of competition, which can only be good.

“Albert is a valued member of the squad. I hope he can get off and running again.”