INJURY-PLAGUED striker Alen Boksic is on course to return to the Middlesbrough squad to face Terry Venables' Leeds United on Saturday.

The Croatian, who has picked up a series of niggles since joining Boro in August 2000, missed last weekend's defeat at Charlton with a foot injury.

But he trained with the rest of the squad yesterday and he will now be vying for position with Massimo Maccarone, Szilard Nemeth and Joseph-Desire Job to play against Leeds.

Robbie Stockdale was also back on the training field yesterday after recovering from a heel injury against the Addicks.

But McClaren still has doubts over whether £5m midfielder George Boateng will be fit for ex-Boro head coach Venables' Riverside return clash.

Boateng was on the wrong end of a forceful tackle from Shaun Bartlett on Sunday and is still receiving treatment on an ankle injury.

He failed a fitness test yesterday and was ruled out of training but McClaren still hopes to have the player fit before the weekend.

A club spokesman said: "The treatment has been going quite well and he has responded well to that treatment."

Mark Crossley is also still missing from training with a hamstring problem but there is good news for young wing-back David Murphy.

Highly-rated Murphy, an England youth international, suffered medial ligament damage on his full Premiership debut at Southampton on August 17 and has not played since.

The 18-year-old had to be replaced by Colin Cooper at St Mary's after just 15 minutes and has not played since.

Hartlepool-born Murphy returned to training this week and he is now focusing on challenging for a place in McClaren's first team once again.

It is an important time for fifth-placed Boro who face a tough four-game schedule.

After Leeds, McClaren's men then face Newcastle, Liverpool and Chelsea. And it is a sequence of fixtures which is likely to indicate just how far Boro have come under the former Manchester United No 2.

Boro have snapped up 18-year-old Dutch midfielder Sergio van Kanten. The has spent the majority of the season on trial at the Riverside and has played six games for Mark Proctor's Under-19s side.

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