Reading FC interim manager Paul Ince has confirmed bad news for Karl Hein, following the goalkeeper’s injury absence on Saturday.

Reading FC confirmed ahead of Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Blackpool that Karl Hein would miss the match through injury. At the time, there was no news of the nature of the issue, but Paul Ince had a disappointing update after the game.

Ince explained that Hein suffered ligament damage in a finger whilst at home. He faces six weeks out, and potentially even longer if surgery is required.

Given we’re now just over two months from the end of Reading’s fixture list, there’s a very real risk Hein’s season could already be over.

The timing is unfortunate, given Hein’s promising performances in a three-game unbeaten run for the relegation-threatened Championship side.

Hein joined Reading on loan in the January transfer window, and he quickly made it into their starting lineup.

Though his spell in the team began with a couple of narrow defeats, they then turned things around to draw one and win two, their longest unbeaten Championship run since September.

The Arsenal goalkeeper was on the winning side again on Tuesday, a 2-1 victory in which he made seven saves, with local reporters putting him up as a candidate for their Man of the Match.

Hein also kept a clean sheet for Reading against Peterborough the previous week, the team’s first clean sheet since October 16th.

Luke Southwood was Reading’s first-choice goalkeeper for most of the season before Hein’s arrival, and he returned to the starting lineup in Saturday’s defeat.