QPR suffer big injury setback as manager 'sad' for luckless former Coventry City loan man
Queens Park Rangers are set to without former Coventry City loan defender Jake Clarke-Salter when they travel for Tuesday night’s Championship clash at the CBS Arena.
The West London club have picked up significantly under Marti Cifuentes who has guided his players to nine league wins in the last three months to turn around the fortunes of the club after taking over from predecessor, Gareth Ainsworth, in October 2023 after he'd managed just one league victory in the opening three months of that season.
QPR are now level on points with the Sky Blues, albeit a place behind on goal difference, as they head to the West Midlands fresh from the fact that they had a blank weekend due to being knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round stage.
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Cifuentes has five longer-term absentees heading into the midweek match at Coventry rather than any recent fitness doubts.
Clarke-Salter hasn’t played since the start of January and is enduring a “long” spell on the treatment table following a hip injury. Speaking about the player, Cifuentes said: “I’m very sad for him. He’s a player and a guy that I really rate – from a professional and personal perspective. It’s a big setback. I’m very down because of the injury and very sad because it will be a long one.
“This season we had a lot of expectations about how much he could help us – last season and at the beginning of this season he showed how good a player he is.”
Clarke-Salter, you may recall, had a spell out injured during his time at City in the 2021/22 campaign when on loan from Chelsea, limited to 29 league appearances. Since opting to join QPR in the summer of 2022 rather than sign for the Sky Blues on a permanent deal, injuries have restricted him to 16 league appearances in his first season, 33 in his second and just 11 in the league during the current campaign.
Elsewhere, Lucas Andersen picked up an injury against Norwich City last month and is making “good progress” but wasn’t set to return to training until early February. He wasn’t in the matchday squad against Blackburn Rovers and looks set to miss out again.
Kader Dembele is a longer term absentee following knee surgery in November and has completed the first phase of his pitch rehabilitation. The winger is expected to be available for selection again in mid February.
Zan Celar has a hamstring injury, also picked up against Norwich City in December. He is into the second phase of his rehab process following surgery and isn’t expected to be back on the training pitch until mid February.
Meanwhile, Harvey Vale was signed from Chelsea on deadline day but arrived at Loftus Road already injured. A club statement confirmed: “The 21-year-old is currently sidelined through injury and will not be available to play this season. He will now continue his rehab at QPR in preparation for the 2025/26 campaign.”
