QPR reaction given to Ilias Chair & Rumarn Burrell situations - it's 'messed up our season' | OneFootball

FLW's QPR fan pundit has given his verdict on the return to fitness of Ilias Chair and Rumarn Burrell

QPR are on the fringes of the play-off battle in the Championship season, and will need an extremely strong run of form to break into the top six.

Julien Stephan’s side are enjoying a winning run either side of the March international break, but are still someway short of the promotion battle at the moment.

Injuries have hampered the team, with the likes of Ilias Chair and Rumarn Burrell both absent at important times.

The London outfit will be hoping that the pair could have a role to play in the final weeks of the campaign, particularly if they can close the gap to the top six in the next few games.

The Hoops have offered a positive update on Chair and Burrell, and it’s possible they will play again before the final day of the season on 2 May.

And supporters might be wondering what could have been had they been able to stay fit more consistently this campaign.

QPR can upset Championship promotion battle

When asked how important it is that Chair and Burrell are coming back soon, FLW’s QPR fan pundit Louis Moir has claimed that it is a big boost if they can get minutes before the end of the campaign, but that they shouldn’t be rushed into the team.

He believes that Stephan’s side can beat anyone on their given day, citing the recent win over Coventry City as an example, but that it’s unlikely that they will be able to break into the battle for top six with so few games remaining.

“We’ve proven we can beat anyone in this league with injuries or not,” Moir told Football League World.

“We beat Coventry at the top of the league at home with quite an injury-depleted squad, but having the likes of Burrell and Chair back, it can only boost us.

“Let’s not forget that Burrell was our top goalscorer and, not being funny, if he wasn’t out injured we could be talking about the top scorer in the Championship, to be honest.

“There’s no reason why he couldn’t be right up there.

“He was on 10 goals, he could easily be joint or even the top scorer in the whole league, Burrell, so he’s been a massive, massive miss.

“Obviously, look, Chair, it’s just been too long without him, really.

“On his day, one of the best no. 10s in the league, I still think he’s the best player at the club ability-wise.

“The thing is you don’t really want to rush him because realistically we’re not going to get the play-offs, and I think it’s all looking to build for next season now.

“So you don’t really want to rush these players back in case they pick up injuries again, but regardless of Burrell and Chair and maybe a couple of others, I think we could definitely upset the teams up there who are looking to get promoted.

“Because we have proven that we can beat anyone, and obviously we’re a very inconsistent side but, on our day, you’ve got to fancy us.”

Moir claimed that he’d love to see Burrell and Chair back in the team before the end of the campaign, but that the club should be ensuring that they aren’t at risk of aggravating any injury issues as it will be more important that they’re ready to have a good pre-season.

“These players [being] back is going to boost that even more,” he added.

“I’d love to see the likes of Burrell, even Chair, Madsen back, we’re in the last few games of the season now, if they’re not up for it, then there’s zero point risking them.

“Injuries have really messed up our season, and we want players as fit as possible for the end of the season, so that they can go into next pre-season getting fit and giving it a good go.

“Because that’s what’s done us in this season.

“You wouldn’t want injuries to happen again, especially to players who have just come back.”

QPR finished 15th in the Championship table last season under Martí Cifuentes, who walked away in the final weeks of the term.

Stephan was appointed as his successor, and the Hoops will now be aiming to finish inside the top half of the table.

The London outfit’s best finish in the league since their 2015 relegation from the Premier League was when they came ninth in 2021.

QPR are currently inside the top half of the table, but still have a handful of games remaining to maintain that position.

QPR will need to be perfect to have any remaining promotion hopes

QPR can still reach a maximum points total of 74, which might just be enough to secure sixth in the table, so there’s an outside chance they can fight for promotion.

Having Burrell and Chair back will be helpful, but it’s still an extremely unlikely outcome, and Stéphan should not be planning to have them back for that explicit purpose.

Focusing on getting them back up to speed with some minutes before 2 May will be important in helping them prepare for next season.

If QPR can keep everyone fit and available more consistently in 2026/27, particularly Burrell and Chair, then perhaps a stronger promotion push could be on the cards.