Reading FC manager Leam Richardson has provided an update to Jack Marriott’s injury ahead of their clash with Luton Town on Saturday.
Some reports have suggested that Marriott could miss the rest of the season which would come at a big cost for the Royals, who are still chasing a play-off spot.
Reading go into Saturday’s game in 8th place on 51 points, just two points outside the top six with a game in hand over the two sides directly above them.
Despite not confirming that Marriott would miss the remainder of the campaign, Richardson remained coy and refused to give any kind of timeline for his return.
Richardson confirmed that Marriott would undergo more scans to understand the extent of his hamstring injury.
After learning the news of his setback, Reading decided to recall young striker Sean Patton from his loan at Aldershot Town, which suggests that Marriott’s absence will not be short term.
Patton hit the ground running during his short time with the Shots and netted five goals in six appearances.
He was included in the matchday squad for last week’s match against Bradford City and helped to transform the game from the bench as the Royals completed a late and dramatic comeback to win 2-1.
Despite the club having high hopes for Patton, he has big shoes to fill if Marriott is to be out for an extended period, which is expected.
Since arriving from Wrexham in the summer transfer window, Marriott has scored 16 goals in League One which makes him the second highest scorer in the division and with by far the best goals to minutes ratio having netted one every 110 minutes.
Two former Royals narrowly trail Marriott in the goalscoring charts. Former loanee Dom Ballard, who netted a hat-trick against Reading earlier in the season, also has 16 goals to his name.
Meanwhile, Jayden Wareham, who decided against signing an extension with Reading last summer in favour of joining Exeter City, has scored 15 times in League One.
