Reading outcasts Chris Gunter and Garath McCleary are reportedly set to be called back into the first-team following the club's appointment of Mark Bowen as first-team manager, according to Jonathan Low of Berkshire Live.

The duo were frozen out of proceedings under former manager Jose Gomes but with the Portuguese sacked last week, it looks like they will be given another chance.

Taking to Twitter, Low wrote: "Understand that first-team outcasts Chris Gunter and Garath McCleary are to be brought back into the senior set-up this week by new #readingfc boss Mark Bowen."

30-year-old Gunter is yet to make an appearance for the Royals this term, getting two run outs for the reserves instead, and any match will be his first since the last day of last season.

For McCleary he has not played since the end of April and it is a decision from Bowen that is sure to be unpopular with the fans, given how well the team had played without the duo's involvement.

The verdict

Bowen is clearly very naive or simply does not care about being portrayed as the villain at the Madejski Stadium.

Having been the sporting director for the last six months or so, he will have known full well that both Gunter and McCleary were not popular figures among the fans so it seems a bizarre move to do this straight away.

And besides, are either player really better than those already playing in the side? I don't think so at all and this just reaks of another step in the wrong direction from the club.