TYLER Blackett defended George Evans crunching tackle on Shaun MacDonald as Reading secured their place in the Championship’s top six last night.

Royals cemented their spot in the play-offs thanks to an early goal from this season’s top scorer Yann Kermorgant.

The forward crashed a header past the helpless Matt Gilks after a slick training-ground set-piece routine between Liam Kelly and Garath McCleary.

But moments later play was forced to stop for nearly 10 minutes as midfielder Evans went in for a 50-50 challenge with MacDonald. The challenge resulted in the Latics’ player being stretchered off and rushed to hospital with a suspected serious leg injury.

Speaking after the game however, Blackett rushed to the defence of his team-mate.

“It’s unfortunate about the injury but these things happen,” asserted the former Manchester United starlet.

“Hopefully he has a quick recovery.

“I spoke to George after the game. He’s not a player that goes out to hurt anyone.

“He hasn’t tried to put in a bad tackle.

“It’s the way that some things happen, he has a good mindset and he will be fine.”

Reading face Burton Albion next weekend for the final Championship game of the season before they find out who they will face in the Championship semi-finals.

Despite admitting relief at securing a place in the play-offs, Blackett urged his team-mates to keep focused as they prepare for the coming fixtures.

“It’s not done yet,” he continued.

“We have extra games now and we have to go about them in the right way.

“We’ve worked hard for it all season and it’s the right time to push on now.

“We have to use the Burton game as an extra game to practice.

“I don’t mind who we play. I’m confident that on our day if we do things right we can beat anyone.

“It doesn’t matter who we get. It’s all about how we perform on the day.”

Blackett, who began his career with Manchester United, admitted he would love to return to the top-flight with Reading following his spell in the Championship.

“That’s the dream and that’s what everyone is working towards,” he beamed.

“It’s all about mental strength now and taking things into consideration. We need to look back at games and look at what we have done well and keep working on that.”