JASON Steele has admitted he benefited from a two-month break away from Middlesbrough's first team.

Having played in 33 of Boro's opening 34 league fixtures, Steele was forced into a spell on the sidelines after suffering a muscular tear in March's 5-2 defeat to Reading.

The Newton Aycliffe-born 20-year-old has been one of the success stories of Middlesbrough's season, but admits his form had dipped prior to his absence from the side.

He returned in Monday's scintillating 3-0 win at Cardiff, and while he had surprisingly little to do in south Wales, the shot-stopper admits he feels fully recharged following his enforced hiatus.

"The break has helped me," said Steele, who will be back between the sticks when Boro round off their season with a home campaign against Doncaster this afternoon. "Mentally and physically I needed it - to play 35 games in such a short space of time was difficult.

"People will probably think it shouldn't have taken a lot out of me, but in truth it did.

"I think it was a blessing in disguise to get that time out - my form had dipped a little bit from the start of the season and it probably helped me to be out of things for a bit.

"I had a meeting with the physios and sports scientists, and the most

games I'd played before now (in a season) was 13. So to suddenly throw your body into 35 is a hell of a lot."

While today's game marks the end of the Championship campaign, Steele's season will not necessarily conclude with the meeting with Doncaster.

The youngster has been named in Stuart Pearce's provisional 40-man squad for this summer's European Under-21 Championships along with team-mate Joe Bennett, and is expected to make the final cut for Denmark.

"To be named in the England squad was brilliant," he said. "I just need to carry on working hard to get in the final squad - it'd be brilliant experience for me. Fingers crossed I get there now."

In the meantime, Steele is determined to help Boro provide a positive finale to a season that has failed to live up to expectations overall.

"For the club, this is one to put behind us," he admitted. "We're in a false predicament, although some of the performances haven't been good enough and the lads would put their hands up and admit that.

"But sometimes the results haven't matched the performance. We've conceded late goals and the rest.

"Now, we just have to move on. In the last month or so, our form has been good, and we've got to look ahead and make sure we're at the right end of the table next season."