Reading FC will welcome back ex-player Andy Rinomhota when they host Cardiff City in their first home Championship game of the season.
Rinomhota departed the Royals this summer after his contract expired and joined the Bluebirds on a long-term deal.
“I was doing a bit of training yesterday to see if I can get my boots on to play against him,” said Reading boss Paul Ince.
“It will be great to see him, he’s a fantastic kid.
“In the short time I had him at the club he was outstanding.
“Obviously he got injured late on in the season which was a big miss for us when we were trying to stay up.
“It’s a shame we had to lose him and Josh (Laurent) at the same time, it was a big blow for us.
“But he made his decision and I’m sure he’ll be a success at Cardiff. But we’re not thinking about that, we’re just thinking about trying to beat Cardiff.”
Ince revealed that the Royals were close to agreeing a deal to extend Rinomhota’s contract before Cardiff registered their interest.
He continued: “Ultimately, he wanted to stay. When I spoke to him, he said how he loved his time here and wanted to continue playing for me, but like with everything, if you
can’t compete with the financial package other teams are offering then it’s hard to keep these types of players.
“As much as it shouldn’t be about money, football is a short career and if clubs offer more than us, then players have a decision to make.
“I don’t think Andy was a money person, he always put his heart and soul into each game but we lost him, couldn’t afford to keep him and got to move forward.”
