Sol Bamba set for Middlesbrough role after battling back from cancer

After overcoming cancer, Sol Bamba will play a part for Middlesbrough in the Sky Bet Championship this year.

The 36-year-old defender, who underwent non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment earlier this year, has been working out with Boro under manager Neil Warnock’s watchful eye in an effort to get back in shape after being released by Cardiff at the end of his contract.

He is expected to stay longer in the northeast after making an impression as a coach aiding Academy manager Craig Liddle on the Teessiders’ preseason trip to Cornwall and on the field as a substitute in a friendly against Rotherham.

Warnock added: “He’s an excellent coach with the youngsters, always giving advice, never shuts up, so I think it’s an opportunity for him.

“And if he can contribute on the field of play, then we’ve got to think about that because it does give us another option.

“He did really, really well for me at Rotherham, which was an awkward game. In a way, that helped me look at him because I never thought he’d get back to this kind of fitness, if I’m honest, when I was at Cardiff and the problems that he had.

“But all credit to him, he’s done remarkably well by working hard and overcoming things. I think he’s got things to prove. I think he was a little bit disappointed to leave Cardiff and he’s got something to prove now.”