Sonko in Royals fold

Reading defender Ibrahima Sonko could be set to return to the squad for Saturday’s Premier League visit to Blackburn after his latest behind-closed-doors friendly against former club Brentford.

Sonko, 26, who has finally been given the go-ahead for his comeback after an operation in February to reconstruct ruptured cruciate knee ligaments, has already played in three private friendly matches and two reserve games in the last few weeks.

And Reading manager Steve Coppell believes the Senegal-born centre back is now on the verge of a first-team return, saying: “These games are really proving to be valuable for us and will be to our advantage.”

Coppell told the Reading Evening Post: “He (Sonko) will be very much in contention for the first-team squad in the next week. Once he has played four or five games we will know he is almost there.

“And he will have an impact when he comes back. He will bring a mentality which unites us all. He knows he has also got a lot to prove at Premier League level.”

Sonko played all 46 Championship matches during Reading’s promotion campaign the season before last but has been sidelined from Premier League action since being carried off against Sheffield United on January 21 after building on a reputation as one of the country’s toughest and most solid central defenders.