Reading winger Garath McCleary (knee and abdomen) is in contention to return after missing the win against Wolves.
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.