Manu Pogatetz hopes to be available for Middlesbrough next month.

The 24-year-old Austria international made his comeback from surgery on both knees in a behind-closed-doors reserve friendly against Bradford on Tuesday, and managed to get 60 minutes under his belt.

Now he has set his sights on a return to senior action after the next international break, and hopes to be in contention for Gareth Southgate's squad for the Barclays Premier League visit of Aston Villa to the Riverside Stadium on November 24.

Pogatetz told a meeting of Boro's Official Supporters' Club: "I think I should be back at my best after the next international break.

"If the manager feels he needs me before that then of course I will play, but it's hard when you know you are only 80 or 90 per cent fit.

"I need to test myself and take part in more competitive training to get back my self-belief. I want to get back to my best physically and mentally."