Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate says Afonso Alves is a "decent athlete" but admits it will take the striker time to gain full fitness.The 27-year-old Brazilian was unveiled to the sound of samba drums and the cheers of delighted fans on Thursday following the completion of his complicated £12.7million switch from Dutch club Heerenveen.
However, he has only trained twice with his team-mates and is short of match fitness, and Southgate will take that into consideration as he prepares his side for a game at Fulham on Saturday which could lift them well clear of the fight against relegation.
Southgate said: "Afonso has not played for five weeks or so, but he is a decent athlete.
"It is going to take him a little bit of time to get up to full speed, but I need to talk to him and see how he feels because there has been a hell of a lot going on in the last week or so.
"I need to see how he is mentally as well as physically."
Fulham gave their own survival chances a major boost with an unlikely 2-1 home victory over Aston Villa last weekend as they tasted victory for the first time since November 3.
Little separates the sides in the lower reaches of the division, but Southgate is refusing to regard Saturday's encounter as a must-win affair.
He said: "I always say I don't like the term 'must-win games' because where do you go if you don't win them?
"I hear that phrase used a lot. Yes, it is a game where we know the reward is huge if we win it, but we have to approach it like every other one we have had.
"We are in a good vein of form and we want to keep that going.
"We have to focus on performance and if we play to the best of our ability, we are capable of beating anybody here.
"Fulham have got everything to play for and will be in good spirits after the game they had last week and we have got to make sure we go out and attack the game.
"We always go out to try to win and Saturday will be no different."
Boro will be without midfielder Lee Cattermole, who damaged his medial ligament at Newcastle, but striker Mido could return after recovering from a reaction to his pubic bone problem.
More Football News from TEAMtalk
