Ex-Huddersfield Town defender side-lined for Reading against Terriers - but ex-West Ham and Liverpool striker set to feature

The defender, who joined the Royals on a free transfer after leaving Huddersfield, has made just two appearances this season and is expected to be out for a number of weeks.

Ovie Ejaria could return for boss Paul Ince after being out since the start of the season.

The winger suffered a hamstring injury in Reading’s second game against Cardiff and has not played since while Shane Long could return after being out with a virus.

Femi Azeez is unlikely to feature while Andy Carroll, who joined the Royals before the international break, has been building up his fitness with the club’s Under-21s side.

“Naby is out again – he’ll probably be out for another two or three weeks with his calf,” Ince told the Reading FC website.

“Andy Carroll is fit and ready to go – he’s played a couple of games, a friendly against Brentford and for the Under-21s against Millwall on Monday. He’s still not there, but we’re trying to sharpen him up as much as we can, as quick as we can. But it’s great to have him on board.

“Femi Azeez has started doing some running and ball-work – it will probably be a couple of weeks before he can start joining in properly. It’s good to have him coming back, because he’d had such a good pre-season and looked sharp and strong.

"He was ready to get involved in the first team, so it’s been a tough journey for him. So he’s back on the grass and he’s got a smile on his face.

“Ovie’s back and looks sharp and strong. He trained last week with us. He probably needs a game – he’s looked that good that I’m half tempted to throw him in!

"We’ve got to be careful; there’s so many games coming up and we’ve still got more injuries, so we have to be careful with players like that.

“Shane’s been in this week and has done some stuff in the gym and on the bike – he’d had the same type of virus before a long time ago, so he knew what it was. He was one we sorely missed; it’s good to have him back in the building.

“It’s still a slow process. Some of these players are still out for a few weeks, and then it takes them a few more weeks to get them back up to speed.

“It’s okay to have the players back on the grass, but they need to be up to speed. That can take three or four weeks. And we’ve got six or seven games in that time.”