Reading defender Jeriel Dorsett is to miss up to 10 weeks with a torn hamstring, manager Noel Hunt has confirmed.

The 22-year-old, who has racked up nearly half a century of appearances for the club since breaking through the Academy in 2024, limped off after just four minutes of Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Leyton Orient.

Cruelly, this came just as the full-back was working back from a long-term injury which had kept him out since early December and forced him to miss six matches.

Saturday's defeat at Brisbane Road was his first start since Hunt's opening match in charge in December, having been a half-time substitute in the previous week's 3-1 defeat at home to Stockport County.

Speaking after Tuesday night's agonising 3-2 defeat at Burton Albion, Hunt confirmed it would be a long way back for Dorsett.

"He’s torn his hamstring so it will be an eight-to-10-week job," Hunt confirmed. "Everyone knows what we have and what we haven’t got, it is what it is. I’m proud of what we have in this dressing room right now and that’s not going to change. What we have, we will work with and focus on and do our best to make better."

One player back in Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, who made his first start since November at the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday and lasted just over an hour.

Having had cameos off the bench in recent weeks, Hunt was pleased to have the attacking forward back in his arsenal.

"I was conscience that he was getting tired. He was putting in a shift. Emotions kick in and you want to keep him out there but can’t afford to lose anybody at this stage.

"I thought Mamadi [Camara] came on and looked good as well, which is a positive for us. Chem [Campbell] got through, he’s missed two or three weeks before and is only getting back to speed now. To have a performance like that, I’m so gutted for the boys but I’m so proud of them as well because they keep going."

Club captain Andy Yiadom, who has not featured since April, is now back in full training but Hunt has insisted the 33-year-old feature in some youth matches before making a return to the first-team squad after missing nine months.

"That will be the plan for Andy, to get more full-time training on the grass and then into games- Under-21s and see where we are."

Reading, now thin on the ground with injuries, host Bolton Wanderers on Saturday looking to stop a run of three straight defeats.