McGree has endured a shocking last couple of years of injury setbacks, and suffered a fresh blow in the summer when he limped out of the pre-season defeat to Bradford.
McGree hasn’t featured since and wasn’t part of the squad for either of the first two games of the season, with Edwards now revealing that Boro will play the long game with the 26-year-old so they can try and guard against further setbacks in the future.
As things stand, it’s not clear when that means McGree is expected to be in contention to return, and Edwards certainly won’t be rushing the process.
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“We said with Riley we want to make sure when he comes back he stays back,” said the head coach.
“So we’re focused on that and building resilience and strength up, so when he comes back he’s not going to be in a position where he may break down again.
“It’s been frustrating for him. He puts everything into it. We have to make sure when we get him back we keep him right.”
Boro have no fresh injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s Championship trip to Millwall.
Finn Azaz is in contention to return to the squad having missed the win over Swansea and cup defeat to Doncaster, but isn’t ready to start the game.
George Edmundson is also back in training, but Saturday’s game might come too soon for the defender.
Darragh Lenihan is not yet ready to return and Alex Bangura is a longer-term absentee after suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season.
Edwards said: “No fresh issues. We’ve had a couple of lads returning to training, which helps the overall squad.
“But it’s too early for people to be starting. With Sontje [Hansen] coming in, clearance dependent, then he could be available for us as well.
“George has been training only the last couple of days. He’s been out a long time, but Finn has had a bit more time.
“We’ll see where he’s at. What we don’t want to do is take too many risks too early on because they’re key players.
“Bangsy [Bangura] was a bit more long term than the others, that hamstring injury, so he’s not back on the grass yet but Darragh is progressing well.”
