NEIL WARNOCK will return to work at Middlesbrough’s training ground this afternoon – but the Boro boss will not be travelling to London for tomorrow’s Championship game at QPR.

Warnock has spent the last week in isolation at home close to Boro’s Rockliffe Park training ground after testing positive for coronavirus.

His isolation period is now at an end, and he will return to the training complex later this afternoon to take charge of a team meeting before his players head off to London.

However, there is a collective desire not to rush his recovery so his assistant, Kevin Blackwell, and first-team coach, Ronnie Jepson, will remain in charge to oversee events at Loftus Road.

Blackwell said: “Neil’s getting on well. He’s going to come in and be in on the team meeting, speaking to players. He’s well on the road to recovery.

“We speak every day, and we’ve been able to hear the improvement in him day by day. He’s been able to take this opportunity to rest and recuperate.

“To be fair to Neil he looks after himself and does quite a bit of work gym wise, and he’s in good nick, and I think that’s been a saving for him. He hasn’t really suffered heavily from the Covid. Clearly, though, it’s a worry for everybody when you get a strain that everybody is saying is a serious virus.

“He’ll be in today, but we’re not looking for him to travel (to London). I think Neil has said that myself and Ronnie have done the preparation work all week, and at the club I think we think it’s a final chance for him to have a rest period at the weekend. After the weekend, it’s a long old season.”