Reading Midfielder Out For A Month But Better News On Strikers

Jaap Stam delivered both good and bad news to Reading fans after Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over Millwall. He’s given a comprehensive update to the media, with full details reported by Wokingham Paper and TTE Podcast Extra Co-Host Tom Crocker.

In short, the bad news is that midfielder John Swift is expected to miss at least four weeks with a hamstring injury picked up against Preston on Saturday. It’s a big blow for Swift, who finally looked to be returning to form in the 2-1 win over Villa, before being forced off in the first-half at Deepdale. The lone positive might be that it gives Swift a bit of a rest, after a hectic 2017.

There is better news on the fitness of Liam Kelly, in that the midfielder only has a dead leg and could return for the weekend trip to Birmingham. Likewise, Joey van den Berg should also return to training this week and could also make our trip to the Midlands.

Forward Jon Dadi Bodvarsson is also ‘close’ to full fitness, so presumably there’s a chance he could also be considered for the bench at St Andrew’s.

Two that almost certainly won’t feature are Jordan Obita and Yann Kermorgant. Obita is the closest to a return, having begun to train outdoors again. For Kermorgant it’s a more long-term absence but Stam said the striker himself wants to return in two weeks. Yet the Reading boss isn’t so optimistic, labelling a 6-7 week return the more likely scenario. Either way, that would be a big boost after fears he could be out until closer to Christmas.

As mentioned there’s further details from Tom over at The Wokingham Paper, including updates on Roy Beerens and Garath McCleary, while Tom will join us on the Podcast Extra later this week to bring us a full team news update ahead of the weekend.