Reading boss Paul Ince has confirmed that winger Junior Hoilett will be missing for up to eight weeks with a hamstring issue.
The Canada international has been a regular for the Royals this season, impressing during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Captain Andy Yiadom will return after serving his suspension for picking up 10 yellow cards.
In other team news, Ovie Ejaira and Joe Lumley are unavailable with injury and due to being owned by Boro.
Lucas Joao and Tom Holmes, both missing for four weeks, are back in training but unlikely to feature at the Riverside.
Take a listen to what Ince has said below:
"Junior [Hoilett] will be out for six or seven weeks; it could be longer. I think he nicked something behind his hamstring the other day. That’s a big loss for us because he gives us balance. You’re asking Junior, at his age, to play wing-back. He’s been brilliant and has does it week-in week-out. It’s a sad loss because he gives us composure. When everyone else is panicking, he brings it down and gets us into the game. Whether we get him back for the rest of the season, we will find out.
"Ovie [Ejaria] has done a bit of training but he’s not quite there yet, his knee is still sore. Tom Holmes trained today for the first day, but he’s been out for four weeks, and Lucas [Joao] is back but he’s been out for four weeks. Apart from that, everyone’s ok."
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