‘Big question mark’ over whether Chair will play in QPR opener

By

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes has suggested that a back injury Ilias Chair has been nursing is worse than was initially thought.

Chair missed the 1-0 friendly defeat at Reading, having also sat out games against Tottenham and Fulham.

He is unlikely to feature in next weekend’s final pre-season fixture, against Brighton, so looks a doubt for Rangers’ first game of the Championship season, against West Brom on 10 August.



Cifuentes said: “He’s having a little more – I wouldn’t say serious – but worse injury than we expected with his back.

“So we need to just assess this every week and see how it develops. Hopefully it’s not going to take long but I would say we need to take it week by week and see where he is.

“We know he is very robust, he will push his best to be with the team, but most likely we will not have him against Brighton.

“We don’t know yet [if he will be fit for West Brom]. It is a big question mark right now.”

Cifuentes has another potential injury concern to deal with after Lyndon Dykes was forced off against Reading just 14 minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute.

The Scotland international only recently returned to action after missing Euro 2024 with an ankle injury.

“He got a tackle in the same ankle he injured before the Euros,” said Cifuentes.

“Unfortunately he was in a lot of pain, so we need to see tomorrow how he is.”