Pogatetz waits on appeal verdict

New Middlesbrough signing Emanuel Pogatetz will discover tomorrow how much of the new season he will miss when his appeal against a 24-week ban is heard in Russia.

The 22-year-old Austrian international travelled to Moscow to plead for leniency after being handed the strict punishment just days after completing his £1.8m (€2.6m) move to the Riverside Stadium.

Pogatetz was on loan at Spartak Moscow from Bayer Leverkusen when he broke Shikkin Yaroslavl player Yaroslav Kharitonsky’s leg in two places with a bad tackle.

He was immediately sent off and expected a regulation ban, but having flown to England to tie up his switch to Boro, he was stunned to learn that he had been banned for six months.

Boro believe the punishment was severe because the Russian authorities felt that the full-back had left the country with indecent haste, and they have enlisted the help of the Football Association to argue his case.

Pogatetz flew back to Russia last week to formally launch his appeal and visit Kharitonsky in hospital, and is hopeful of a more positive outcome.

If the ban was to stand, the FA have admitted they will have little choice but to enforce it under FIFA regulations if details are included when the player’s international registration is received.

The Austrian is due to return to Teesside next week to start pre-season training after being given extra time to recover from his exertions for Spartak.

Manager Steve McClaren and the rest of his squad returned from a week on the Algarve last night, and after a day off today, are due to resume their preparations for the new campaign tomorrow.

Both McClaren and 20-year-old winger Stewart Downing are expected to sign new contracts during the next few days with the former revealing before heading for Portugal that he had agreed a new four-year deal, while the club confirmed last Friday that the England midfielder had agreed in principle to sign a lucrative extension.