Reading boss Paul Ince has revealed that he will be taking extra precautions with duo Liam Moore and Ovie Ejaria despite injuries mounting.
The Royals have found themselves in a slump of late, losing a third consecutive game at the weekend to drop to 16th in the table.
Ince’s side were beaten 1-0 at home by play-off hopefuls Millwall after also narrowly suffering defeat at the hands of 2nd place Sheffield United last Tuesday.
But Reading will now be looking worryingly over their shoulder following their recent drop off, currently sitting 12 points above the relegation zone, but are set to be hit with a six point deduction imminently.
With a possibly ropey end to the campaign, Ince will be hoping his squad will be in the strongest place possible for the run in, which he revealed includes allowing Moore and Ejaria more time to recover from their injuries, Ince said:
“What you have to understand crystal clearly is that these players have been out for a long time.
“As much as I want to throw them in, I’ve got to look after their well-being and welfare.”
Ince also confirmed more injury problems following the Millwall defeat, saying:
“Scott Dann is out with a hamstring, Andy Yiadom has done his ankle and Tom McIntyre has done his ankle, so [we’re] down to the bare bones.”
Sam Hutchinson, Baba Rahman, Junoir Hoilett, Yakou Meite and Dejan Tetek are all out, whilst Mamadou Loum remains a doubt.
Cautious return…
Given Reading’s injury situation, Ince may be forced into bringing back Moore or Ejaria into the fold a lot earlier than originally planned.
Out of the duo, Moore is significantly closer to a full return after he made his comeback as a late substitute against Sheffield United previously, before being forced back in earlier than expected at half-time against Millwall following Dann’s injury.
Ejaria on the other hand hasn’t featured in 2023, playing the latest of his eight league games this season back in early November.
Ince’s side face Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, with the starting line-up certainly being an interesting one to see given their mounting injury troubles.
