"Steven has trained hard for two days since playing 45 minutes for the reserves on Monday," said Benitez. "He was very tired after the game, which is understandable considering that he had not played for two months.
"We do have Steven back, which is good for me, for the team, for the fans and for the England fans. It is very important that he is back.
"He can give us more intensity and a stronger mentality, it is definitely good that he is back playing again.
"We know we have a lot of important games in the next month or so and at least in midfield we now have a lot of competition for places.
"It's good he wants to play at Middlesbrough, but I don't think he will start. We will have to see, but it might be a good opportunity to use him in the second-half. It depends on the score and how the game is going."
