Reading boss Paul Ince is 'excited' to see the return of former captain Liam Moore.

The longest-serving player in the team, with over 200 club appearances to his name, the centre-back was stripped of the captaincy under previous manager Veljko Paunovic and was sent on loan to Stoke City.

Suffering a near-career ending injury with the Potters, the Leicester native has not featured for over nine months.

Now back in full training, Ince admitted he is getting very eager to reintroduce the 29-year-old to a first team match.

Reading Chronicle:

"Looking at him, I would throw him in against Swansea if I could," he admitted. "He looks super-duper. Fit, tackling and aggressive. You wouldn’t believe he’d been out for so long. He went away to Spain for two-three weeks and has come back looking like a machine. Sometimes you get a bit excited and want to throw him in but we have to be careful. We are trying to arrange a game here [Bearwood] or do an in-house match to get him up to scratch. He’s looking really good."

What will no doubt be a contentious decision among sections of the fanbase, the former England captain has assured everyone that there are no issues and that everyone wants the best for the football club.

Reading Chronicle:

"One thing is for sure, when Liam Moore played for Reading, he was a very good player and captain of the football club. I wasn’t party to what went on, and I don’t really give a monkeys, all I am concerned about is having a quality player coming into my team and helping us get to where we want to get to.

"We are all pulling in the same direction. I love fans, everyone has their opinions, that’s football. If Liam Moore comes back into the team and starts performing the way I know he can, it can only benefit the football club."