Reading manager Brendan Rodgers will assess the fitness of forward Grzegorz Rasiak before attempting to finally end the long wait for a home win when Middlesbrough arrive at the Madejski Stadium.

Rasiak - who started the midweek success at Preston on the bench - is nursing a slight knock and may be forced to miss out altogether as the Royals look for a first home league victory since January.

They have scored just five goals in 14 matches in front of their own fans since beating Wolves nine months ago so will hope that the Poland international is fit.

Republic of Ireland international Shane Long remains sidelined with an ankle injury and Chris Armstrong is still recovering from knee surgery.

Rodgers has no other injury concerns but may again make changes as he continues with the rotation policy which has seen Alex Pearce miss out in recent weeks.

Middlesbrough striker Caleb Folan will be sidelined for up to six weeks by the hamstring injury he suffered in training last week.

The Republic of Ireland international, on loan from Hull, will sit out for between four and six weeks as the Teessiders attempt to re-ignite their promotion bid.

Full-back Justin Hoyte, who missed Tuesday night's 1-0 home defeat by Leicester with an ankle injury, is back in training and in contention for the trip to Reading.

However, skipper Emanuel Pogatetz will have to wait until after the international break for his return after a minor setback in his recovery from a long-term knee problem, while Andrew Taylor and Chris Riggott (both ankle) and Matthew Bates (knee) are still out.