READING FC will be without Garath McCleary until September after he picked up a calf injury whilst away with Jamaica.

The winger sat out training at the club's open day on Friday and was missing from the squad that faced Espanyol yesterday.

Following the game, Clarke admitted that McCleary's injury was worse than first thought and said that he won't be fit for selection until September at the earliest.

He said: “Garath's come back injured with a calf injury and I don't think he'll be available in August so that's a big blow for us.

“It's very frustrating.”

There was further bad news for Clarke as Pavel Pogrebnyak went off midway through the first-half after receiving a kick to his ankle.

Pogrebnyak limped out of the stadium visibly annoyed and admitted he's unlikely to be ready for the season opener against Birmingham City on Saturday.

Clarke admitted the injury was a concern as it hasn't cleared up since the Russian forward picked it up at the end of last season.

“Pavel's is an injury he's been carrying since last season,” he said. “We haven't managed to clear up so that's a concern.

“It's something that's been there for a long time. We've tried one or two different things but he's not responded properly so that's a blow for us.

“We'll assess him properly after the weekend when it's settled down and we'll take it from there.”