Town skipper Jim Magilton remains a doubt ahead of Saturday's trip to Reading. The Northern Irishman is still suffering with a tight hamstring and could be replaced by the returning Ian Westlake.

The youngster is back after missing last week's 3-2 victory over Coventry due to a one-match suspension and will be in the starting line-up, with one of the other four senior midfielders dropping to the bench.

Magilton currently looks favourite to miss out because of the injury, which kept him out of training earlier this week.

Manager Joe Royle says he is not ruling his skipper out: "Jim's rested his tight hamstring and, with it not being a tear, I am hopeful that he will be fine."

Magilton will be assessed closer to the game before a decision is made. If the midfielder misses out, Canadian international captain Jason De Vos will again take over as skipper.

Striker Shefki Kuqi is not a worry, despite a slight ankle injury which he picked up in the Coventry match.

New loan signing, central midfielder Jimmy Juan, will not be at Portman Road until Friday and won't be involved at the Madejski Stadium. The Monaco man is expected to play in next Tuesday's reserve match away at Coventry.

Also expected to be in the side at Highfield Road is defender Drissa Diallo, who is continuing his recovery from the hamstring injury which has kept him out of action since before the Christmas period.

Town will take 4,300 fans to the Madejski Stadium, their biggest away following of the season. Reading are also close to selling out and the attendance should be close to a 24,200 capacity. Fans travelling by car should arrive early as traffic can be very heavy around the ground.

The Royals played 120 minutes of an FA Cup replay with Swansea on Monday but manager Steve Coppell, who went to school with Town boss Joe Royle, doesn't think his players will be tired: "My brother is in sales and he's away four nights a week most weeks, so we're not complaining.

"We had a lovely day on the marina in Swansea. We walked along the beach on Sunday which was really nice and totally different to what we normally do. That's not a hardship whatsoever.

"We wake up in a lovely hotel and have food laid before us. The hardest thing we've had to do is lift a knife and fork to our mouths.

"People say to me that it must be difficult being away, but why? The environment is really good, we all like each other's company and it's been very nice for everyone."

Reading are without Steve Sidwell who has reached 10 bookings for the season, a total which has been described as "unacceptable" by his manager. The former Arsenal trainee has been their most impressive player this season and could be badly missed.

Also out is former Cambridge striker Dave Kitson who has a knee ligament injury, while veteran recent signing Les Ferdinand is hoping to recover from a hamstring problem.

Saturday's referee is Martin Atkinson from West Yorkshire who has shown 55 yellow cards and three red in 22 games this season. Atkinson has not previously refereed the Blues and is in his second season as a league official.

Squad: Davis, Price, Wilnis, Karbassiyoon, Richards, De Vos, Naylor, Magilton, Miller, Horlock, Westlake, Currie, Mitchell, Bent, Kuqi, Bowditch and Couñago.

Photo: Action Images

Ipswich Town Polls