If ever a player likes to play "with the sun on his back" ... it is Mark Viduka. You ask Boro fans how often the Oz striker was in the treatment room at the Riverside during the cold snap.

However, Viduka has made his long awaited return to training at Newcastle United.

The striker has not kicked a ball for the club since May because of a niggling Achilles problem, but first-team coach Chris Hughton has revealed he could be back in action in a fortnight.