Reading FC injury latest as Roberts manages fitness issue

Roberts has impressed since arriving at Reading, but Richardson admitted the 24-year-old has been carrying an issue over the last couple of games.

The Royals boss hopes a full week between fixtures will give Roberts an opportunity to recover and build the consistency Richardson believes will allow his quality to shine.

“Yes, he has done the last couple of games, to be honest,” Richardson said when asked about Roberts playing through pain.

“It’s something we’ve been managing.

“So, hopefully, he can have a really good week. We can manage that through the week and he can, again, get a bit more consistency in his game because that’s what he needs.

“He needs a bit more robustness, a bit more consistency, because you can see, especially with the goal, the quality that he’s got.

“So, again, I’m very pleased with Hayden at the minute.”

Richardson also provided a positive update on Sean Patton, although the defender remains some way from returning to competitive action.

Patton is working his way back towards fitness and is expected to require another few weeks before being ready to feature.

“Very well, yes, very well,” Richardson said when asked about his progress.

“He’s still got probably two or three weeks away from featuring in any type of competitive game, football, but he’s working really hard.

“So, fingers crossed that can continue as well.”

Jeriel Dorsett, meanwhile, is also continuing his recovery after being called upon earlier than planned in midweek.

Richardson explained that Reading had been forced to accelerate the defender’s involvement because of the circumstances surrounding the squad.

“He’s still coming back from that,” he said.

“So, we rushed him on the bench on Tuesday.

“We kind of put him on the pitch for five, ten minutes, didn’t we, on Tuesday, because it was a bit of a needs must.

“But while we had the numbers, we felt it was more important that he got the work done because, obviously, he’s going away.

“So, we wanted to make sure that we got him up to speed before he leaves this place.”

There was further encouragement over summer signing Josh Knight, who Richardson says is now building towards match fitness following a disrupted pre-season with Portsmouth.

Knight is at a similar stage to Patton but could soon come into contention if he completes another positive week of training.

“Yes, he’s getting up to match fitness as well,” Richardson said.

“Just needs the numbers. Like I say, he had a bit of an indifferent pre-season with Portsmouth. So, our S&C guys have taken care of that.

“And once he’s available, he’s had a good week. Hopefully, he can have a good week next week and then be available for selection.”

Richardson also clarified Josh Stokes’ absence after his impressive display against Brentford, insisting it was a selection decision rather than a fitness concern.

The Reading boss described Stokes as one of the standout players against the Bees and stressed that the midfielder remains an important part of his plans.

“No, I thought he was excellent against Brentford,” Richardson said.

“I’d echo that. I think he was one of the outstanding performers against Brentford, although we had a few.

“It was just the balance of the bench, the balance of the opposition.

“We feel that we’ve got a really good balance on the bench at the minute, that we can change the game in different shapes and different formats.

“But Josh is training hard. He’s a great lad. He’s a massive, massive part of what we’re doing.

“And he’ll get his time. He’ll get his time on the pitch. He’ll get his support when he’s playing because he’ll be a big player for us.”