The Egypt striker enjoyed a marvelous start with Boro, scoring twice in his first two games, but has not featured since sustaining a groin injury against Chelsea last month.

"Mido is desperate to get out on the pitch and show the fans what he can do," the Boro coach told the Evening Gazette.

"Apart from his first couple of games when he made a big impact, he hasn’t been able to play to the level he is capable of.

"We’ve missed him because we don’t have another player with his attributes. He’s physically big and a target man, so not having him available has made it difficult for us.

"Some other clubs have had the same problem. Wigan have missed Emile Heskey in the same way as we have missed Mido."

Mido faced a similar groin problem in the 2006 African Cup of Nations in Egypt, but Southgate believes the type of injury is a mystery for the 24-year-old.

"It's not the sort of injury in which you can put a return date on it, like ligament damage or a break," added Southgate.

"It seems to be one step forward and two steps back."

The former England center-half has no doubts over Mido's attitude and willingness to be back in action with the Premiership strugglers.

"The person who most feels the frustration is Mido himself. I have read some things about our players which are incredible," said Southgate.

"The stories about him are from people who don’t know him. People who spread rumors especially through the internet have no proof and face no comeback, but it’s irresponsible.

"We know how hard he’s working and how much he wants to be back on the pitch."

Missing Fresh Air

On the other hand, full-back Luke Young said he 'has faith' in Boro's injury-plagued strikers, who only managed four goals between them so far this season.

"I have total faith in our strikers," said the England defender, who scored Boro's last goal in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham on November 3rd.

The former Charlton Athletic captain bemoaned the injury that sidelined Mido, stressing that it has been a major blow for the Teesside outfit.

"Losing Mido has been a big loss. He came in like a breath of fresh air, played really well for a couple of games and got a couple of goals. But he's been out since then, and that’s been really frustrating," added Young.