It is unlikely Andre Ayew will make a return from injury for Swansea City in their EFL Championship clash with Reading on Sunday, club boss Steve Cooper has revealed.

The Ghana international miss out on Tuesday’s 1-0 loss to Queens Park Rangers after suffering a hamstring injury in a 2-2 draw with Wycombe Wanderers, a game in which he only lasted for the first nine minutes.

There were initial fears that he could be headed for a long spell on the sidelines, but Cooper, ahead of the QPR fixture, disclosed the 31-year-old would be expected back in action in their penultimate match of the regular season against Derby County.

On Friday, the Jack Army manager has given Swansea fans another piece of positive news, intimating Ayew’s possible return much earlier against Reading.

“It’s looking like he will miss this weekend’s game. We are doing everything we can, and he is doing everything he can to be fit," Cooper said at the pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s tie.

“But if he does miss out this weekend, it will be the last game he misses as he should be ready for Derby.

“As I said, we feared it would be worse than it actually is, but this game has probably come too soon.

“We will wait and see, but we won’t take any risks with him that’s for sure. We don’t want to have him miss any more games. We are working hard to get him fit as soon as possible."

Ayew has been Swansea’s livewire this season. In his 41 league appearances so far, the Ghanaian has started in all but one and has registered 15 goals and four assists, sitting as the club’s top scorer.

By his influence, Swansea desperately need him back in action in their quest to keep up the chase on Watford to possibly snatch the second automatic Premier League qualification spot.

Ahead of the last three rounds of matches, the Jack Army occupy the third position on the league table, eight points behind second-placed Watford.

Should Swansea fail to climb up, they are likely to qualify for the promotion play-off where four teams will battle it out for the final ticket to the Premier League.