READING FC midfielder John Swift is fit for tomorrow night's televised clash against Ipswich Town (Friday, 8pm ko, live Sky Sports).

The summer signing from Chelsea has recovered from a hamstring strain which forced him to miss England Under 21s' 6-1 victory against Norway on Tuesday.

But the 21-year-old has made a full recovery and could return to the side for the clash against the Tractor Boys.

Boss Jaap Stam confirmed: “He's fully fit. We did a lot of work with him this week and we will decide whether he will be in the squad on Friday.

“He's the type of player who, if he's fit, you want in your squad.

“But we have also seen that without John Swift we can also win games which tells you a lot about our squad.”

However, Royals have confirmed Yakou Meite's ankle injury is worse than first feared and could rule the summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain out for up to a month.

The 20-year-old picked up the injury in training and a recent scan confirmed ligament damage.

Stam explained: “Yakou damaged ankle ligaments and will be out another two or three weeks at least.

“When knew he had a problem and when he didn't make much progress over two weeks we had a scan.

“The damage hadn't healed but he doesn't need an operation.”

He added: “It's disappointing for him because he is so eager to play.

“He came up to me one day and said, 'boss, I can play, I can play,' but I told him he was still limping.

“However, that says something about his mentality. He's young and wants to prove himself.

“He's physically very strong, he's quick, he's a good finisher and he has a lot of quality.

“It would be great to have him in the squad as he gives us more options, but we need to take it easy with him.”

Reading, 1-0 winners at Cardiff City before the international break, could rise to third in the Championship with a victory against Mick McCarthy's Ipswich, who are unbeaten in three in the league.

However, Stam warned: “I'm not thinking about that at all. It's far too early to look at the table.

“We're making progress but Ipswich are a quality team. Their work rate is excellent and all my players know they are going to have a very difficult evening. We need to be up for it - and we are.”