QPR huge blow as 'long' injury confirmed ahead of West Brom and Middlesbrough

QPR are set to be without midfield linchpin Sam Field for upcoming Championship fixtures against West Brom and Middlesbrough after Marti Cifuentes confirmed a ‘long’ lay-off for the player.

The club confirmed via social media on Saturday that the 26-year-old missed out from the matchday squad against Sheffield United due to an ankle injury picked up in the defeat to Portsmouth last month. It was only the second time Field has missed Championship action this season.

The defensive midfielder has become a stalwart under Cifuentes at Loftus Road and his absence will be a significant blow for the R’s. Speaking after defeat to the Blades, the QPR head coach told LondonWorld that there would be more news this week about the player but hinted at a longer term lay-off.

QPR handed injury blow ahead of West Brom and Middlesbrough

He said: “I think that the club will make a statement on Monday to explain more about it. Unfortunately, with Sam, it seems like it’s going to be a bit long after the tackle with Ogilvie [Connor, Portsmouth]. Nico [Madsen] felt just sick yesterday with fever and so on and obviously wasn’t ready for playing today. Hopefully he will be ready for next week.”

QPR were handed a boost in the return of Lucas Andersen to fitness. The attacking midfielder has been out of action since injuring himself against Norwich City at the end of December but was named on the bench against Sheffield United.

Andersen didn’t feature in the game but could be in line for minutes against the Baggies and Boro with Cifuentes having to make do without Field. Speaking about the loss to Sheffield United, which made it two defeats on the bounce, Cifuentes said: “I think that we created enough chances to score more, but that’s the reality of football, it’s not quantity it’s quality. They got a really good second goal especially.

“Perhaps both goals we could have done better and that’s what decided the game but I think the team performed at high levels in many areas of the game today and it’s a pity we couldn’t get more from it against a quality side that had two or three moments in the game and were able to win.”

Cifuentes ‘proud’ of QPR efforts against Sheffield United

QPR now sit 14th in the Championship, eight points off the play-offs and 13 points above the drop zone. Upcoming opponents West Brom and Middlesbrough are sixth and eighth and vying for play-off spots.

Cifuentes was asked about the difference in quality between recently relegated Premier League sides and other Championship outfits on Saturday. He said: “It could be easy for me to say that. Football, I’ve said many times, is a game of mistakes and accuracy. It doesn’t matter if you create 20 chances if you’re not able to score, it doesn’t matter.

“If you create two and score two you can win the game. I’m very proud of my players today so I don’t want to speak about quality difference as I felt we were very dominant in many moments of the game and we created a lot of situations and pushed a team performing at a really high level.

“When you look at their winter signings, obviously it’s a club that shows that they have this financial strength and that’s it. On the pitch, I felt my players did really well.”

In other news, Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder was fuming at the referee in the QPR fixture despite taking three points back to Yorkshire.