Disgraced former Boro defender Abel Xavier is hopeful of making an early return to football from his drugs ban.
Xavier - who was sacked by the Teessiders after testing positive for an anabolic steroid - believes the Court for Arbitration in Sport will this week reduce his suspension from football from 18 months to a year.
And that could see the 33-year-old one-time Portuguese international back in action by the end of October.
A CAS tribunal will rule on Wednesday whether to reduce the length of the suspension handed down by UEFA's disciplinary panel.
Xavier made just five appearances for Boro before falling foul of the drugs testers following a UEFA Cup tie against Xanthi on September 29.
