Northampton Town boss Jon Brady explained that he opted against the 'romantic' option of allowing former Reading captain Liam Moore to feature against his old club in his side's 1-0 defeat.

Moore, who joined the Cobblers in February after eight months without a club, had featured in the last five matches before hobbling off in Saturday's 1-0 win over Derby County.

The 31-year-old played over 230 times for the Royals in a seven-year stay. Not always plain sailing, the defender was stripped of his captaincy in 2021 after stating his desire to leave, and suffered with long-term injuries for the final two seasons in Berkshire.

Many Royals fans were looking forward to welcoming the Leicester City favourite back to the SCL Stadium, as they had done with Wycombe Wanderers attacker Garath McCleary last month.

However, he was not involved in the squad as Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan's strike won Reading the three points.

"We feel, with his minutes, that he’s in a red zone," Brady explained. "What he’s done is outstanding, coming back and putting in the performances that he has. He felt tight the other day so all we’re doing is managing him. We’re not going to break him. That was a tough one to hear but we’re going to do the sensible thing over the romance.

"To come back to an old club, it’s romantic for him. He wanted to play and be a part of it, but I had to be on the sensible side. They’re just the calls you have to make as a manager."