Early QPR team news ahead of Sheffield Wednesday ft Ilias Chair update | OneFootball

Football League World looks at the latest QPR injury news ahead of Saturday's trip to Sheffield Wednesday

QPR will be targeting their second league victory of the 2024/25 Championship campaign over the weekend when they travel to Danny Rohl's Sheffield Wednesday.

The R's were put tp the sword in a 3-1 opening day defeat to West Bromwich Albion at Loftus Road but have not lost a game since, stretching an unbeaten run to five matches.

Michael Frey and Paul Smyth helped to inspire a 2-1 victory away at Cambridge United in the first-round of the Carabao Cup before subsequent points were claimed against promotion hopefuls Sheffield United and Plymouth Argyle, who went down to nine men during last month's 1-1 draw.

QPR followed that up by beating Luton Town in consecutive matches. Marti Cifuentes' side defeated the Hatters on penalties in the second-round of the cup, setting up a home clash against Premier League side Crystal Palace this month, before heading into the international break off the back of a 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road.

The West London outfit find themselves in 12th-place after four matches of the new season and appear a much stronger and more resolute side than they did in the previous term. Saturday afternoon's opponents, meanwhile, have lost their last three matches in a row, meaning QPR will head up to South Yorkshire with the confidence of clinching maximum points.

Ilias Chair and Morgan Fox set to miss QPR v Sheffield Wednesday

In contrast to Saturday's hosts, who will likely be without recent arrivals Yan Valery and Nathaniel Chalobah through injury, QPR can prepare for the fixture with a strong and largely clean bill of health across the squad.

At the time of writing, it does not appear as though any fresh absentees have emerged throughout the two-week international break and Cifuentes will be left with the same options at his disposal as he has been for recent matches.

However, Chair and Fox still remain sidelined and will not be expected to feature in any capacity. Talismanic playmaker Chair suffered a back injury in the off-season, which kept him out of some of QPR's pre-season friendlies and he is yet to feature in competitive action this term.

Unfortunately for QPR, there is no indication that Chair will be returning to action anytime soon.

"I said we were waiting for some tests and unfortunately the tests showed the development is more or less as we expected. I’m always optimistic and thought it might be a faster process, but the reality is that it’s a bone bruise and it takes time."

Meanwhile, Fox is also yet to feature in any matchday squads amid an ongoing injury niggle, which is set to keep him out of lining up against his former side at Hillsborough.

The Welsh defender spent three years in the Steel City between 2017 and 2020 and made 22 appearances for QPR last season following his arrival from Stoke City.

Karamoko Dembélé is helping QPR cope with Ilias Chair absence

Chair has been among the leading creative players in the Championship while undoubtedly proving himself to be his side's star man for a number of years now, meaning there were initial fears about how QPR would cope in his absence.

However, summer signing Karamoko Dembélé is ensuring that Chair's absence is not too sorely-felt at the moment, putting in a series of fine early-season displays after sealing a loan switch from Ligue 1 outfit Brest.

The diminutive attacking midfielder, who shone on loan at Blackpool last term, has acclimatised to the Championship rather seamlessly and looks very capable of being a crucial component in Cifuentes' side all season long.

Dembélé has set up two goals in his first three league games for the club, while only Finn Azaz and Giorgi Chakvetadze have created more chances than his 12 in the Championship.

However, no player in the second-tier has accumulated a higher chances created per 90 minutes return than Dembélé's staggering 4.5. Dembélé and Chair will be even more effective when acting in tandem together, but he has stepped up admirably to fill the void of the Morocco international for the time being.