Former Lincoln City captain Paudie O’Connor is edging closer to a first-team return for Reading after two months on the sidelines.
The centre-back, who moved from the Imps to the Royals in the summer, has yet to appear in a competitive fixture for his new employers, but a positive update has been given by manager Noel Hunt.
O’Connor has been absent since early August but is now back in full contact training. Hunt confirmed that while the defender is not quite ready for selection, his progress has been encouraging and a return is on the horizon.
The Irishman made more than 150 appearances for Lincoln before departing at the end of last season, looking for a chance to push up the League One table.
Speaking to Royals TV, Hunt said:
“Paudie is doing great, he’s back out on the grass. We all want to see him in the team. Without even playing for us we know he’s a key figure for the team and he’s gone through the last couple of days of contact in training and we will get him through this week and push him through the ranks in terms of that.
“But we have to remind ourselves that he hasn’t played in two months and one full week of training is too soon for him and the physios are onto me about that. But this week will benefit him well and then we will see where we go with him.”
Reading were expected to be challenging at the top end of the table, and at the time, it was felt Paudie had made the right move in terms of giving himself a chance of Championship football in 2026/26.
However, early indications have shown it not to be the right move. We’re three points off top with a game in hand of Bradford, and will go level with the Bantams if we win on Saturday, moving ahead on goal difference (Stevenage could go top outright).
Reading languish in 19th, just two points clear of bottom side Peterborough, three shy of Plymouth in 15th. While it is early days, pressure is increasing on Hunt, who will be eager to get his fresh-faced signing back. Originally, he was due to miss three weeks, but we’re now into October and he’s just nearing a return.
His injury meant he missed a fairytale start to the season. He was scheduled to appear for the Royals against us on the opening day, a narrative that would have given headline writers something to stew over. Instead, he was injured, and we swept to a 2-0 win.
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