Jaap Stam Gives Injury Update

If you've got a ticket for a Reading game in February the bad news is you're unlikely to see Joey van den Berg. Reading Manager Jaap Stam has confirmed the Dutch utility man is out for at least four weeks with a hamstring tear he picked up during the first-half of the 2-1 win over Cardiff.

He joins Tiago Illori on the sidelines for the month, as the January signing from Liverpool deals with ligament damage that will keep him out for another 3-5 weeks.

With those injuries in mind, the signings of Reece Oxford and Jordon Mutch make even more sense. Both Ilori and van den Berg can play multiple positions, so their absences will be a blow to Stam who's spoken of needing to give certain players more rest as we head into a busy final few weeks.

The Reading boss also confirmed to Get Reading that Paul McShane and Yann Kermorgant were dealing with calf problems before the Birmingham game but that both are in contention to feature at Ipswich on Saturday.

Thankfully our business done on deadline day should limit the damage but how much will Reading miss the Dutchman and should he be a starter when he returns?