Diame living up to Bruce's billing as a class act

Mo Diame has overcome the stress of having to recover from a fractured kneecap (Picture: Tony Johnson).

The Senegalese international underlined his importance to the Tigers’ cause with a sumptuous second-half winner at Portman Road in an eye-catching 1-0 win that kept the East Yorkshire outfit ahead of the pack in the Championship. Bruce was left drooling at the quality of Diame’s sixth goal of the campaign, which he felt provided more evidence of just how his skills are worthy of a Premier League stage as opposed to a second-tier one.

But alongside his footballing talents, the Tigers’ chief was also eager to pay tribute to Diame’s character after shrugging off any mental scars following a serious knee injury, which kept him out for a fair portion of last season.

Bruce said: “I think we have got to take our hat off to him because he’s had a horrible injury.

“He’s been out with a fractured kneecap, so it takes time mentally and physically.

“We all knew from the moment we signed him that he’s a class act and he’s getting back to somewhere near where we think he is.

“Because, let’s be fair, he’s too good for this division when he’s playing like he is. Let’s hope it’s the catalyst to take us forward to where we want to be.”

Meanwhile, Bruce’s promotion rival Aitor Karanka, head coach at Middlesbrough. was also left to laud a key individual contribution in the shape of the performance of teenager Dael Fry in Middlesbrough’s much-needed 3-1 home win over Cardiff City.

On a night when Boro were without defensive pillars Dani Ayala and Ben Gibson, 18-year-old Fry followed his fine showing at Leeds United with another mature display that belied his tender years.

Karanka said: “Dael is a player who every single day impresses you. The first game against Preston it was a surprise for everybody how mature he was; the following game against Leeds, it was a surprise again, it was a tough atmosphere.

“And against Cardiff, trailing 1-0, there could have been pressure from the crowd.

“But again he was amazing, so for that reason I am really pleased and we have a really good player for the future.”