Bobby Convey has revealed that the knee injury keeping him out of the Reading eleven is one he has been carrying since the World Cup.

"I've been injured all season," the Royals winger told YA. "It started at the World Cup, then I was struggling all through the preseason and it got to the point that I couldn't run on it anymore and it just gave out."

The US international has missed Reading's last two games, against Chelsea and Arsenal, having started the first seven of his club's inaugural Premiership campaign, and is now walking visibly hurt.

"I've really been limping a lot and have not been alright," Convey confirmed. "I trained the last few days but it swelled up really bad so I could not play against Arsenal."

"I don't like to look for excuses but I have been limping and I have not been able to run as well as I know I can."

Convey played over two and a half hours of soccer for his country in Germany this summer, where a long domestic campaign finally took its toll on his left knee, he now admits.

"My ligaments were strained a little bit from the beginning," he said. "Then I got some bad bone bruising on the outside of my knee because it was doing too much work."

"After the World Cup I had three weeks to rest it but when I came back at the beginning of the season it just got worse and it is just completely swelling up now."

"I have been getting some treatment for sure but I could not walk for a few days so it has been difficult."

Despite this setback, the former DC United man is determined to get back on the field as soon as possible, starting with Saturday's trip to Portsmouth.

"Hopefully I will be able to play," Convey stated. "I could have played maybe a little bit on Sunday but Steve [Coppell] wants me to wait to be 100% because I will just hurt it more if I come back too early."

"It definitely sucks missing these two games but hopefully I'll come back on Saturday. We'll see."