In Mido’s absence, Gareth Southgate’s men lost 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to a 69th minute strike from Bulgarian hit man Dimitar Berbatov.

"I felt a hamstring pain after playing 90 minutes against Everton last week," Mido told FilGoal.com.

"Manager Southgate decided to rest me against United, to prevent the injury from getting worse."

The Egyptian international confirmed that he will be fit to start against AFC Barrow in the English FA Cup first on January 3rd.

Mido’s Boro are currently struggling in 17th position, and the former Tottenham man stressed that he will be striving to help his team climb the Premiership table.

"Our priority is to stay away from the relegation zone and then improve our league position," he said.

"The beginning will be against Sunderland on January 10th."