McDonald made his first appearance in almost two months after a knee injury, as a 69th minute substitute in Boro's 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday.

The Australian made a bright cameo and Mowbray told The Journal he was delighted to have him back, with Boro in the mix for the promotion playoffs.

“Hopefully there is a freshness about his play and we can utilise him. Whatever the scenario is, he has scored 10 goals this year," Mowbray said.

"He also offers an ability to press the ball from the front and has a great work ethic."

Mowbray added McDonald's impact in the dressing room would hopefully be positive too given his "grumbling", as the club seeks to end a run of four straight draws which seen them slip to seventh.

“Every manager wants players like Scott. You can’t have a dressing room full of individuals who don’t grumble about anything," Mowbray said.

"Every top team has outspoken individuals. As a manager you should never grumble about players like Scott because on the days when a manager’s voice does not have the impact it should, you need other members of the dressing room to be heard."

He added: “The other players will get a lift when he is on the pitch. They might get a flea in their ears every now and again from him, but I think it is not such a bad thing to set high standards.”

Mowbray also said he believed there were no concerns about McDonald coming back early as he trusted him in his recovery.

“Scott has been great for us and hopefully he will add that ingredient until the end of the season. He is a hard-working lad. I have no fears that he will come back strong and ready," he said.

“He has worked hard in running and physically. I’ve kept out of his way. I’ve let him get on with it."