Reading boss Ruben Selles is expecting defender Amadou Mbengue to be out for 'some days' after limping off against Peterborough United, but insists he has plenty of options for Tuesday's trip to Barnsley.

Harvey Knibbs netted a brace in the first-half and the Royals battled hard to keep the Posh out for 96 minutes, eventually conceding a consolation but holding out to win at London Road for the first time since 2001.

Mbengue, who picked up his fifth yellow card and, in the process, will miss Tuesday's trip to Oakwell regardless of his fitness, will need replacing.

Young Abraham Kanu was the substitute of choice for Selles in Peterborough, making his league debut and defending valiantly throughout.

(Image: ©Jason Dawson)

Speaking to the media after the match, Selles confirmed that the 22-year-old will spend some time on the recovery table but is not expected to miss much action.

"I was with the medical team, and it is a contact injury. It is swelling a little bit right now, but we don’t expect any major injury, maybe some days out. He is out anyway for the next game so hopefully he will be back for the first game he can be available."

A hotch-potch back line consisting of two teenagers, a midfielder and an out-of-position full-back ended the match well and, with an average age of just 20, looked wise beyond their years.

Despite missing a key member of the squad for Tuesday's tough trip to South Yorkshire, Selles insists his squad is strong enough to cope.

"We can count the age of those players, and it is really exciting. I think the most exciting thing is to see how they’re playing- Michael Craig at right-back, Tyler Bindon as a player that is setting up the tone of the line, Jeriel Dorsett has been really good and today we needed to make a decision who to bring on the bench.

"We thought they were really quick, and we are not going to change our way so we wanted to have defenders who can defend big spaces and Abraham [Kanu] was the one. He has been out for a couple of months with an injury and things personally, but he has been training well in the last few weeks and he deserved his moment. He proved today that he can play, and we saw today the player that we saw in pre-season. We need to be robust and go again. He can play the game.

"Hopefully Harlee Dean can also be available for the game. Louie [Holzman] has been training really well and he was the extra player today and he can have a chance. Jeriel has also played that position before. We will analyse the opposition and decide what is best for the game."