QPR dealt new double injury concern ahead of tricky Burnley and Sunderland fixtures

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes has been handed two fresh injury concerns on top of a plague of problems going into the final two Championship games of the season against promotion chasing Burnley and Sunderland.

The R’s were beaten 2-1 at home by a determined Swansea City side on Easter Monday with Cifuentes having to alter his starting XI between teams being initially announced and kick-off. Jonathan Varane was due to start the game but ended up being taken out of the squad amid an injury fear.

That saw Morgan Fox come into the starting XI and the versatile Ronnie Edwards being pushed into central midfield. Providing an update on Varane after the match, Cifuentes said: “He felt something up in the quad and, obviously I didn't want to risk more. He felt that it was getting worse in the warm up. So my intention is not to get another injured player and especially not to waste a substitution after five minutes. We had to take a quick decision.”

QPR forced into late change against Swansea City

The London side were handed another worry in the second half as Nicolas Madsen pulled up with a tight muscle. The midfielder had just swivelled to play through a clever ball which allowed Kader Dembele to score, but limped off after that moment. Cifuentes said: “He actually felt a little bit his hamstring, he told me just straight after the game when we were walking in the pitch, he told me that he felt it was not anything really bad to worry about, but he felt it a bit, yeah.”

The severity of those injuries remains to be seen but comes as a blow with linchpin Sam Field also unavailable right now. Meanwhile, January signing Harvey Vale is another option in the centre of the park who will not play this season due to an injury.

Madsen has been particularly impressive of late, finishing a hit-and-miss season with some strong performances. The 25-year-old now has three assists in his last four Championship outings.

Marti Cifuentes praise for Nicolas Madsen

When asked about the player’s progress, Cifuentes told LondonWorld: “I think he's growing a lot and showing that there is a good player there. In my experience coaching in different countries, different contexts, I would say that English football is the one that is more demanding than any other league in terms of the pace of the game. So you need to get used to receiving pressure from almost every angle, especially playing the position he plays to the pace of the game, the game has no rest, the tempo of the game is so, so high.

“I think that he has done a good job to struggle, because sometimes in a football career as a player, you need to go through these struggling moments to grow and I’m very happy because it's not only today, but the last games he's giving assists and today is another one. So, I want to see more from him because he's a very good football player. There is more and I'm convinced about it, but it's definitely showing signals that that he's a good player.”

QPR also remain without Jake Clarke-Salter, Steve Cook, Zan Celar and Alfie Lloyd with Paul Smyth suspended. Next up for the London side is second-placed Burnley at Loftus Road before facing fourth-place Sunderland at the Stadium of Light to finish the season.

The R’s will also be without tricky winger Koki Saito for those games with the player absent against Swansea City having come off early against Preston North End. In another update, Cifuentes said: “He needs to see a specialist. It's definitely a dislocated shoulder. So now we need to see if the specialist thinks that surgery is needed or not, I don't want to say much, but I guess I think it's gonna be difficult for him to play again this season.”

In other news, Newcastle United loan star in 'strop' as QPR boss addresses 'personality' ahead of transfer decision.