Reading are sweating over the fitness of vice-captain Tom Holmes ahead of tonight's clash with in-form Stevenage.

A first league meeting between the sides at the Lamex, the Royals have lost just one in 10 matches and can lift themselves out of the relegation zone with a win.

However, Steve Evans' side sit in the play-offs and have won four of their last five matches.

If they are to pick up a result in Hertfordshire, it is likely that they will have to do so without Holmes.

Struggling with a fractured back sustained in a challenge against Leyton Orient, the on-loan centre-back missed Saturday's Thames Valley Derby draw at Oxford United.

Speaking about his availability, Ruben Selles said: "It is a bit tricky because he has a partial fracture. It is about mobility and how much he can support playing with the pain. A normal person takes six weeks, but a normal person can take much longer. I don’t know if he will make Stevenage. It is a situation where we are waiting every day.

"It is not a fracture that will need a lot of rest, or we need to stop him, he just needs to get the symptoms of the first days’ pain out of his system and mobility. It is a very unusual injury, but we are taking it daily."

Amadou Mbengue covered for Holmes at the Kassam, with some supporters calling for the reintegration of veteran Harlee Dean.