Leroy Lita faces a race against time to be fit for Reading's Barclays Premier League opener against Manchester United after suffering a freak injury in bed.

The England Under-21 striker was unable to train yesterday after damaging a muscle while stretching and he is now a doubt for Sunday's trip to Old Trafford.

"Leroy is in a great deal of pain. He woke up and stretched while in bed and he has done something to his leg," Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, said.

"It is not an injury that should be ridiculed or made light of. We don't know what happened exactly. It looks to be a problem with a nerve. Maybe he has displaced one, but he could hardly walk yesterday and had to sit out training.

"It came on so dramatically that we are just hoping it goes away as quickly."