Yeah I get that, it's just a shame not to have players here for a bit of pre-season. Especially ones without much meaningful first-team experience.
At least Smith has been playing on Reading's tour of Austria. The quotes about Browne are a little more worrying:
“I’m just working on my fitness at the moment. Hopefully it shouldn’t take too long and I’ll be ready to go in the next few weeks." - Browne
“He can be as good as he wants to be. It’s down to him to support his talent. It’s stand up and be counted with him now in his career. We shouldn’t be getting him, but there’s a reason he’s come to this level. We just hope we can make sure we do the right things to support his development.” - Robinson.
Sounds like a bit of a gamble all round.