TONY PULIS will give Lewis Wing a late fitness check before determining whether the in-form midfielder will line up for Middlesbrough in tonight’s Championship promotion encounter at Bramall Lane.

The 23-year-old has become a key player for Boro since the turn of the year and has deserved his place in the side because of his work-rate and desire to join in with the attacks.

The former Northern League player, who was playing for Shildon in 2017, proved that again on Saturday when he scored Middlesbrough’s goal that almost earned three points against Leeds United.

It was during that outing, though, that he suffered the frustration of having to hobble off with a groin injury, and he has been assessed since then.

Middlesbrough manager Pulis said: “Wing is still a doubt. We are not sure if Lewis will be ready for it. One or two knocks and niggles but we will make those calls.”

The Northern Echo:

Wing would be a miss as fifth-placed Middlesbrough look to close the four point gap to third placed Sheffield United, as they both look to chase down the top two of Leeds and Norwich.

On Friday the Blades were left even more stunned than Middlesbrough when they suffered disappointment after late heroics, when they let slip a three goal lead against Aston Villa.

Pulis, whose side have done well by collecting four points from dates with West Brom and Leeds in the last two league games, said: “Sheffield United have done really well this season, they have carried on from what they have done in previous years.

“Last year they just missed out on the play-offs and this year they have gone better, more settled, have good pace and power. It will be a tough game.

“It will be exactly the same as the games against West Brom and Leeds. They will pose lots of problems and we will have to not only solve those but then create problems for them too.

“The last couple of weeks, the energy against teams at the top of the table, their fitness levels have been excellent. Sheffield United will play for 90 minutes, they won’t play for 30-40-50 minutes. It will be a tough one again for us and I am looking forward to it.

“I don’t think Friday will come into it, the most important thing is we go there with confidence, on any given day, if we put everything together, we can compete with them. We have to make sure we do compete with them.”