Mido made just 11 appearances for Ajax this season

Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray has played down a permanent switch to the Riverside for striker Mido following his departure from Dutch side Ajax.

The 27-year-old, who scored four goals in 11 games at Ajax, has been training with the Teessiders just four and a half months after leaving the club.

"It's best to say he's here training, I'll assess him and he'll assess us," Mowbray told BBC Tees.

"I don't want to sit here and say 'we'll do this or do that'."

Egypt international Mido made just 32 appearances in three years following his £6m move to the Riverside from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2007, and spent time out on loan at West Ham United, Zamalek and Wigan.

His last appearance for Boro came under Gareth Southgate in a 3-0 defeat by West Brom, coincidentally then managed by Mowbray, in January 2009.

"I had a conversation with him first, I met him, he looked in decent shape," Mowbray added.

"He's a gentleman really, an intelligent lad, I had to tell him my thoughts about how I saw the situation, because enough people who had been at the football club in the past had plenty of opinions about him.

"So I listened to them all, heard what people had to say and then spoke to the boy himself.

"I'm just having a look at him, seeing where we are fitness wise and what his approach to training hard every day is all about and that's as far as it goes."

Mido's career has taken in 11 different clubs in 12 years, with spells at European giants Ajax, Roma and Tottenham among them.

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