Lucas Joao could face Watford despite shoulder issue

Posted Friday, October 02, 2020 by PA

Lucas Joao could feature for Reading at home to Watford in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday despite a dislocated shoulder.

The forward netted the winner at Cardiff last weekend before he was forced off with the injury but has made good progress and could be involved against the Hornets.

Felipe Araruna was also substituted during the match and the prognosis on him is not good, with the defender likely to miss the next two months due to a knee injury.

He joins Andy Yiadom and John Swift on the treatment table, with the pair not available to Veljko Paunovic for the foreseeable future.

Watford captain Troy Deeney is not expected to play at the Madejski Stadium after he suffered an injury setback.

The forward made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Luton but has been unable to train with the group this week and could miss out.

Ismaila Sarr is available for boss Vladimir Ivic following his return against the Hatters and new signing William Troost-Ekong could make his debut.

Will Hughes and Andre Gray are still sidelined although are likely to be in contention after the international break.