JAAP Stam admits having Tiago Ilori and Reece Oxford back in his squad will strengthen his Reading FC defence for the Championship run-in.

Ilori made his long-awaited return from a knee ligament injury on Tuesday night when he came off the bench in a 3-1 win against Blackburn Rovers.

It was only the third appearance he has made since a club-record £3.5m move from Liverpool in the January transfer window.

His debut came in a 3-2 defeat at Derby County on January 21 but he badly damaged his knee three days later in the 1-0 home win against Fulham and has spent the past two-and-a-half months recovering.

And with skipper Pual McShane and Joey van den Berg still unavailable through injury, Stam is delighted to have London-Born Portugal Under 23 international Ilori back in the fold.

“We knew about Tiago's qualities when he came here from Liverpool,” said Royals' boss.

“Even in the game we lost to Derby he played very well, then in his second game he picked up a small tear on one of his ligaments and was out for a couple of months.

“But Tiago is a player with a lot of qualities and luckily he's back in our squad for the end of the season.”

Reading Chronicle:

Club-record signing, Tiago Ilori.

Teenager Oxford, meanwhile, also looks back to full-speed after an injury-ravaged start to his loan move from West Ham in January.

The 18-year-old pulled a hamstring in training just days after joining the Royals, leading to Stam's controversial suggestion that players are worked harder under him than they are at other clubs.

However, Oxford impressed on his full-debut in the victory over Blackburn having made three earlier appearances from the bench.

Stam stated: “We brought Reece here because of his qualities. He's a young player and he still needs to learn a lot.

“You can say you can learn by playing but you also learn a lot in training as well.

“He needs to fight for his opportunity to play. For him it's not easy because the other centre-backs in our squad are doing very well, but it's great to have him available.”


Meanwhile, Reading midfielder Callum Harriott is close to full-fitness following an operation on his hamstring in January.

The 23-year-old suffered the injury at the end of Royals' fog-abandoned clash against Fulham in late December.


Stam added: “We can be better because we still have injuries to certain players, but it's going the right way.

“Physios have are working very hard to get players fit so they can be with us for the end.”

Reading will be searching for a fourth successive Championship win to strengthen their play-off bid when they go to Norwich City this Saturday (3pm ko).

Jordan Obita is available for selection despite limping out of Saturday's 1-0 win at Leeds.

Stam explained: "We though Jordan might have a tear in his calf, but it was just really bad cramp, so he'll can be available for Norwich.”