QPR handed double injury concern ahead of Burnley and Sunderland games in Championship

Queens Park Rangers manager Martí Cifuentes is facing mounting injury issues heading into the final stretch of the Championship season, with crucial clashes against Burnley and Sunderland on the horizon.

QPR fell to a 2-1 defeat against Swansea City on Easter Monday, with Cifuentes forced to make a last-minute change to his starting line-up. Midfielder Jonathan Varane was originally named in the XI but had to withdraw after suffering a quad issue during the warm-up.

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Morgan Fox was drafted in as a result, with Ronnie Edwards shifting into a central midfield role. Explaining the change after the game, Cifuentes said: “He felt something in his quad, and I didn’t want to take any risks. He said it was getting worse during the warm-up, so we made a quick decision. The last thing we needed was to use up a substitution five minutes into the game.”

QPR’s injury woes deepened in the second half when Nicolas Madsen appeared to tweak a muscle shortly after setting up Kieran Dembele’s goal with a clever pass. He was substituted soon after. Cifuentes gave an update post-match, saying: “He mentioned feeling his hamstring slightly. He didn’t think it was serious, but it was there. We’ll have to wait and see.”

The R’s are already without midfield anchor Sam Field, and January addition Harvey Vale has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign. The potential absences of Varane and Madsen would further limit Cifuentes' options in the middle of the park.

Madsen’s form had been a recent bright spot for QPR. The 25-year-old, who endured an up-and-down season, has notched three assists in his last four league appearances.

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.”

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