JOEY van den Berg and Tiago Ilori could give Reading FC a double injury boost ahead of a hectic Easter weekend.

The pair are back in full training and available for selection as Royals prepare for a trip to Aston Villa this Saturday and home fixture against relegated Rotherham United on Monday (both 3pm).

But skipper Paul McShane remains a major doubt with a troublesome calf strain.

Reading boss Jaap Stam said: “Joey is feeling a lot better and is doing some work on the pitch, so hopefully he can join in on Saturday or Monday.

“Tiago is also back training. He came on against Leeds, but got a bit of reaction on his knee, so he missed the last couple of games.

“But hopefully he can be involved this weekend.”

Reading Chronicle:

Tiago Ilori has recovered from a knee problem.

Stam also confirmed Deniss Rakels is not quite ready for a first-team return, Callum Harriott is nearing full fitness after a hamstring operation and Stephen Quinn remains sidelined.

Reading will be hoping their away form improves following four defeats in their last five away games including a 7-1 hammering at Norwich City last weekend.

Meanwhile, Steve Bruce’s Villa have won seven of their last nine games but saw their faint play-off hopes dented after a recent 1-1 home draw with Burton.

Stam added: “Villa have a lot of quality, a very big squad and can change their players a lot.

“They’ll want to put on a show for the home fans and we can expect a hard, tough game.

"They have pace up front so we'll try to make it difficult for them.

“We also have to think about the two games because we have only one day between that and Rotherham which doesn’t make it easy.

"We want a result from both games so there might be some changes.”

Reading's three-match winning run came to a shuddering end at Carrow Road last Saturday when Stam's men were humbled 7-1 - the first time they had shipped seven in a league fixture for a decade.

But after several days of reflection, Stam tried to put the heavy defeat into perspective.

He explained: “We've thought about it. After a defeat like that you can't just put it over there and not think about it any more.

“These are the things we need to learn from to get to where we want to go. It's happened a couple of times this season but we have always come back from it.

“We mustn't forget we're working with a very young team who need to learn. They were playing against a quality Norwich side.

“It's not easy when you lose like that but you have to move forward. We're still fourth and hopefully we'll end up in the top six.

“There's no need to dwell on the result any more because we can't change it."

He also stressed: “We know we need to be better and the players are very willing to improve. We've seen that all season.

“There's no reason for me to change the whole team after one very bad performance.

“We believe in the players and I'm sure they feel a lot better now.”