Jordon Mutch and George Evans will compete for midfield spots with Joey van den Berg and John Swift.
Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is confident striker Dwight Gayle is over his hamstring injury.
The Spaniard has no fresh injury problems, with only long-term absentees Isaac Hayden (ankle) and Rolando Aarons unavailable for the league leaders.
Reading manager Jaap Stam told BBC Radio Berkshire:
"It's going to be a hard game. Newcastle have got a lot of quality within their squad.
"Rafael Benitez has about 50 players, but that's what happens if you're working at a big club with the funds to make a good team.
"We're going to work very hard to get a result, as we want to work hard for the fans and to stay up towards the top of the table."
Tim Dellor, BBC Radio Berkshire
Reading have the best home record in the Championship, having only lost twice at the Madejski Stadium.
Newcastle are the best team away from home in the Championship, with 13 wins on the road. Something has to give in this one.
Reading were not convincing in their win against Wolves on Saturday. They probably need another four wins from their remaining 11 games to seal a play-off spot.
Newcastle have forged a five-point lead over Brighton at the top, and anything other than automatic promotion is now unthinkable for their fans.
One of the big talking points at Reading in the past couple of weeks has been the low attendances, despite the excellent results. Stam and his team will enjoy playing in front of a full house.
Reading winger Garath McCleary (knee and abdomen) is in contention to return after missing the win against Wolves.