DAVID McNAMEE will replace the injured Karl Duguid at right-back for Plymouth Argyle in their vital Championship clash away to Reading tonight (8pm).

Duguid will miss out on the trip to the Madejski Stadium after suffering a badly sprained ankle in the 1-0 home defeat by promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

McNamee was sent on as a substitute for Duguid in stoppage time at the end of the first half.

Now he will make his first start for Argyle since they lost 1-0 at home to Watford in September when they take on Reading.

There were fears Duguid had broken his ankle, after losing his footing on the muddy Home Park pitch.

But Argyle's medical staff believe there is no fracture or ligament damage.

It is still too soon, however, for an accurate assessment on how long Duguid will be out of action for.

Duguid has played at right-back for Argyle since David Gray completed a three-month loan spell from Manchester United before Christmas.

McNamee (pictured right) is nursing a sore shin, after a late tackle on him by West Brom's Jerome Thomas near the end of the match on Saturday.

It resulted in Thomas being shown a red card by referee Steve Tanner, but McNamee, who has been plagued by injuries since signing for Argyle in July 2008, will be fit to face reading.

Mariner has no doubts about the ability of McNamee to slot into the starting line-up and put in a good performance.

He said: "I think David has got recovery speed and he's a hard-tackling, no-nonsense defender, which is ideal.

"He's good in the air and has got all the attributes."

Duguid had his injury checked out by Argyle physio Claire Taylor on Sunday morning and it was decided there was no need for an X-ray to be taken.

Mariner said: "We feared the worst on Saturday and thought he (Duguid) might be out for some time, but it might not be as bad as we first thought. There is no chance for tonight, obviously."

McNamee is out of contract at the end of the season, so the former Scotland international will want to play regularly for Argyle between now and then.

That could then either see him being offered another deal by the Pilgrims, or being picked up by another club.

For the meantime, however, all of his focus – and that of his team-mates – must be on the Pilgrims' fight against relegation.

Argyle remained in 23rd position in the Championship after their defeat by West Brom.

Reading are one place above them, but opened up a five-point gap over their opponents tonight when they won 2-1 away to Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

So Argyle cannot afford to lose at the Madejski Stadium, otherwise they could become detached from the rest of the struggling sides at the bottom of the table.

Meanwhile, Argyle midfielder Yoann Folly returned to training yesterday after an ankle injury. Folly could make his comeback for the reserves in their away game against Reading at Farnborough FC next Wednesday.

Defender Krisztian Timar has returned to Hungary for two weeks after an operation to repair a torn hamstring.

The former Pilgrims' player-of-the-year has been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Timar was injured in only his second game on loan to League One club Oldham Athletic last month.

"He's back in Hungary for two weeks," said Mariner. "We wanted him to spend some time with his family.

"He's wearing a brace, or something like that, and it's not very comfortable for him, to be honest.

"He's around his family, which is important."