Struggling Washington ‘having a breather’

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Conor Washington needs a spell out of the QPR side after his struggle for goals, according to boss Ian Holloway.

Washington, who has scored just twice since August, has been overlooked for recent matches in favour of youngsters such as Bright Osayi-Samuel and Aramide Oteh.

The striker was again absent for the FA Cup defeat against MK Dons at Loftus Road.

Idrissa Sylla also missed the game after being given time off for family reasons.

Holloway explained: “Sylla’s daughter’s ill and he hasn’t seen his family for quite a while ago, so I’ve let him go back.

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“Conor Washington, I’m giving some of the young lads a go because I think he’s had to carry the goalscoring all on his own.

“Sometimes you sit it out, you have a little breather and then you come back and you’ll be buzzing.”

Holloway named virtually a full-strength team against MK Dons, with the inclusion of Ilias Chair in place of the rested Massimo Luongo the only change from Rangers’ recent win over Cardiff.

Holloway said: “I wanted to give Mass a rest. He’s been fantastic and has been around the world (on international duty for Australia) God knows how many times.”