Reading manager Paul Ince has confirmed that midfielder Ovie Ejaria was banned from the mid-season break to Tenerife and will not feature against Coventry City on Saturday.

The 25-year-old has played eight times this season, picking up one assist, and is one of the longest serving players in the squad.

Speaking to the media ahead of the visit of the Sky Blues, Ince cited his lack of 'discipline and respect' as the reason for his omission.

"We’re fighting our balls off to try and keep this team in the league and if you’re not part of it, then there’s a problem," he started. "Ovie is a great kid. He trains well all the time, but discipline-wise you can’t do that. A team is about discipline and respect, if you don’t do that then you won’t go to Tenerife. He’s now back training and you have to learn from those mistakes. The message is clear here. When I came into this club last year, the discipline was terrible, and the players were doing what they want. You can’t do that.

"Having discipline for any club and any manager is important, if you haven’t got discipline off the pitch how are you going to have it on the pitch. When there’s a lack of discipline and lack of respect, it has to be dealt with. That’s what we’ve done, I’m sure he will learn from it and we can move forward. He’s a very good player, and we need to get him back to the level we know he can."

The attacking midfielder, formerly of Liverpool and Rangers, has not scored in over a calender year.