Burnley and Sunderland boosts as QPR handed two midweek injury blows

QPR were dealt a fresh pair of blows in midweek action against Coventry City with striker Michael Frey and defender Kenneth Paal needing time on the treatment table.

The R’s rescued a point against the Sky Blues thanks to 18-year-old Kieran Morgan, ending a run of four straight defeats in the league. It certainly won’t get any easier for Marti Cifuentes either, with fixtures against sides in top three coming up over the next two outings.

The first is the visit to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Saturday before then hosting Sunderland the weekend after at Loftus Road. Those in-form clubs would have already fancied their chances against the struggling R’s but news of injury blows will further boost hopes of a result against the London outfit.

Full-back Paal has started every Championship match so far this season and is a mainstay in Cifuentes’ XI. The 27-year-old lasted just nine minutes against Coventry City before being replaced by Koki Saito.

Frey was nowhere to be seen in the matchday squad, watching on from the stands at Loftus Road. The club confirmed that was due to a minor calf injury, with both players doubts for the weekend.

Speaking after the match, Cifuentes clarified: “It’s a muscular issue in his thigh [for Paal]. We need to see what’s going on there, probably tomorrow he is going to have some tests. It’s a little bit the same with Michi [Frey]. Yesterday he got a calf feeling in training, it’s a small injury so we’ll see if he’s ready for Saturday.”

The R’s were handed a boost in midweek action. Defender Jake Clarke-Salter saw his first minutes since the 1-1 draw with Millwall last month.

The former Chelsea man had been absent from the matchday squad against Blackburn Rovers, Hull City and Derby County, returning to the bench against Portsmouth last weekend. Clarke-Salter completed 90 minutes under the lights at Loftus Road in a welcome return.

Speaking about the defender after he signed a new contract with QPR earlier this month, Cifuentes said: "Very happy because he's a fantastic football player, a very good guy in the changing room with fantastic leadership, with high demands, high standards. I think he's one of the ones to set the kind of culture we want in this club.

"Obviously there are not many left-footed centre-halves in this league with his qualities, so it's very good news for the club, for me as a manager and for him because that shows he's committed with the project and what we're trying to do here."