Reading pair Andy Yiadom and Adrian Akande are set to take the next step in their recovery from long-term injury, featuring for the Under-21s tomorrow evening.

Club captain Yiadom has been out since April 2024 and is still working his way back from a long-term lay-off while winger Akande has not featured since scoring against Harborough Town in the FA Cup in December.

Both have been big misses in what is already a threadbare squad as many other players join them on the absence list.

However, both are set to get minutes in the tank on Friday night at Aston Villa while the first-team travel to face Huddersfield Town in League One on Saturday.

Ahead of the trip to Yorkshire, manager Noel Hunt spoke of those currently missing and their next plan of action.

"He [Yiadom] will be involved with the Under-21s tomorrow and get some minutes there. He trained with them today for match prep to keep him going, we had more of an intensive session. It is good to see him back. He still has bits to do. He’s been out as long as an ACL so it’s a build-up and a process.

"We don’t want to rush it because if you lose him now, that’s the season. It’s like a lot of our boys; we’ve taken caution with when they come back. We are very aware that we were pushing people back maybe a week or two ahead of time, it’s just the situation we’ve been in and trying to play catch up on the pitch in terms of fitness. It’s important that we get the balance right with these longer-term injuries. We don’t shove; we push."

Joining Yiadom will be electric winger Akande.

"He [Akande] is back on the grass and will get some minutes with the Under-21s tomorrow. It is important that we get as many match minutes into the lads as possible before they come back into the first-team fold. It increases their sharpness and robustness from a different level."

Other key players on the injury list include Ben Elliott, who had an operation on his thigh, and fan favourite Amadou Mbengue.

Still a way off a return, Elliott is hopeful of returning to the training pitch in the coming days while Mbengue is back ahead of schedule.

"Ben has a consultant meeting today which will hopefully give him the go-ahead to start slowly working back on the grass next week. His injury was substantial so he’s a few more weeks away at least before he gets back into training.

"He [Mbengue] is back on the grass and back to his old self- you can hear him in training before you see him. It is great to have him back out there. He’s back ahead of schedule, which is really good and positive. We will assess him over the next few days."

Saturday could mark the debut of deadline day addition Billy Bodin, who joined on loan from Burton Albion until May.