Leeds United captain Richard Naylor will be out for up to six more weeks after undergoing surgery on his troublesome knee.

Naylor, whose mistakes cost a couple of goals earlier in the season, has missed the last six matches through injury.

Neil Kilkenny, meanwhile, is just one caution away from suspension as United defend a five-match unbeaten run at Reading tomorrow.

The former Birmingham midfielder collected his fourth booking of the season in the 1-1 draw at Norwich last week and needs to watch his step at the Madejski Stadium.

Kilkenny has played a key role in United’s five-man midfield lately, allowing stand-in captain Jonny Howson to make more forward runs and boost his goal output with a hat-trick at Scunthorpe and a goal in the next match at Coventry.

Kilkenny was wanted in the summer by Doncaster but stayed at Elland Road and has figured in all but two of United’s games this season, including the 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Cardiff City.

The last time Leeds and Reading shared the same division, Reading won the 2005-6 Championship title, while Leeds finished fifth and lost out to Watford in the promotion play-off final.

The Madejski clash between the teams finished 1-1 and the score-line was repeated later in the season at Elland Road. It says much for the rapid turnover in players that not one member of the Leeds side from those two games remains at the club.

Reading are in mid-table but only three points behind fifth placed Leeds in a highly competitive division and manager Simon Grayson said: “They are very attack-minded but they will be aware of what we’ve been doing lately. We are playing with a lot of confidence and quality so it has the ingredients of being a great game. We are not frightened of going anywhere.”