SPORTZONE27

Wednesday’s Championship schedule brings together two sides who had made an encouraging start to the campaign, with QPR travelling across London to face Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

Both teams will enter the contest looking to respond after suffering their first league defeats of the season on Saturday. Julien Stephan’s QPR side were edged out at home by Middlesbrough, while Charlton endured a far more difficult afternoon, suffering a heavy loss to Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.

The Addicks found themselves in serious trouble before the break, conceding four goals in the opening half as Stoke ran riot. Meanwhile, QPR were unable to maintain their unbeaten record after Middlesbrough secured a narrow victory in west London.

Wednesday’s encounter therefore gives both clubs an immediate opportunity to bounce back and show that their impressive opening weeks were more than simply a temporary surge in form.

QPR and Charlton had each accumulated 10 points from their opening four league matches, putting them among the leading sides in the second tier during the early stages of the season.

Now, both will be eager to return to winning ways and demonstrate that they can remain competitive as the campaign progresses.

However, neither side will have a full squad available for the London derby, with a number of players set to miss out.

Here are the 12 players who will be unavailable for Wednesday’s clash.

Danny McNamara

Danny McNamara is set to serve a one-match suspension after picking up two yellow cards within just two minutes during the second half of Saturday’s clash with Stoke.

The 27-year-old appeared stunned by the referee’s decision, although he could hardly argue with the dismissal after covering more than 30 yards to confront the official over a decision despite already being on a booking.

Collins Sichenje

Charlton received tragic news last week that center-back Collins Sichenje will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury sustained during their EFL Cup second-round loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

After joining Addicks in January from FK Vojvodina, the Kenyan defender only made six appearances last season. This setback is undoubtedly not what he would have wanted so early in his first full season at The Valley, and he has yet to truly get his Addicks career off to a great start.

Billy Koumetio

Billy Koumetio sustained an injury during the cup loss to Spurs, while Nathan Jones dealt with an extraordinary double injury to both of his center-backs inside 15 minutes of the game.

The injury was deemed “precautionary” by the Addicks manager, but due to hamstring damage, his comeback to the pitch may take many weeks.

Reece Burke

In addition, Reece Burke, who was expected to start against Spurs, suffered an injury prior to the game.

The 30-year-old has yet to appear in a matchday squad this season, and with only 17 league appearances in each of the last two seasons for both Luton Town and Charlton, his injury issues aren’t uncommon for Addicks supporters.

Kayne Ramsay

Charlton’s defensive injury crisis does not end at centre-backs; right-back Kayne Ramsay has yet to play this season after suffering an ankle injury last month.

The 25-year-old signed a new four-year contract recently, putting an end to speculation about his future away from The Valley. With an initial diagnosis of “a few weeks,” he is expected to return to the field soon.

Josh Edwards

Josh Edwards, 26, has been out for a year due to ankle ligament damage sustained in a game against Blackburn Rovers. He missed the majority of last season.

Edwards has been back in training for a few weeks and should be nearing the conclusion of his recovery.Whether the encounter against QPR is too soon remains to be seen.

Charlie Kelman

Charlie Kelman is also yet to take to the field this season after picking up an injury in a pre-season matchup with Colchester United.

The American netted seven in 33 in his first campaign at The Valley, but three of those came in his final eight appearances of the year. He hasn’t been able to carry that momentum into this season just yet.

Matty Godden

And Matty Godden has only managed two appearances this season, missing the last five in all competitions following an early exit against Derby County on the Championship’s opening day.

It’s the latest setback in what has been a rough 12 months for the 35-year-old, who played under 300 minutes of league action last season due to knee and hamstring injuries.

Ilias Chair

QPR’s first league defeat of the new campaign was worsened by a couple of early injuries to key players. First, Ilias Chair was forced off inside 14 minutes, being replaced by Koki Saito.

The Moroccan had started the season brightly after a 2025/26 campaign blighted with injury. R’s boss Julien Stephan didn’t rule out the possibility of a swift return, but with this matchup coming so close to the Boro one, it may be wise to keep him sidelined.

Richard Kone

And similarly, while Stephan stated that they’ll need to be assessed in the opening stages of this week, it may be likely that Richard Kone will also be sidelined, after he was forced off five minutes before half-time.

Kone’s absence could open the door for an R’s debut for Justin Obikwu, who has yet to be involved after arriving in January from Coventry City, or a recall to the side for Rayan Kolli, who also hasn’t featured this season.