12 players set to miss Charlton Athletic v QPR ft £5m star | OneFootball

These 12 players will be absent for the clash between two of the early Championship pace setters

The games keep coming thick and fast in the Championship, with sides no longer in the EFL Cup facing off in league action once again this midweek.

Wednesday sees a matchup between two of the frontrunners in the second tier through five games, as QPR make the trip across London to The Valley for a meeting with Charlton Athletic.

Both sides saw their unbeaten start to the league campaign wiped out on Saturday. Julien Stephan's side were narrowly beaten at home against Middlesbrough, while the Addicks were trounced by Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium, shipping four first-half goals without reply.

Both will be looking to get back to winning ways and prove that the 10 points they collected from their first four games weren't just an early-season purple patch.

These 12 players won't be able to feature, though.

Danny McNamara

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Danny McNamara will serve his one-game ban after being shown two yellow cards in the space of two minutes in the second half against Stoke on Saturday.

The 27-year-old was left stunned by the referee, but couldn't have had many complaints, after he travelled over 30 yards to protest a decision, while already on a booking.

Collins Sichenje

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Charlton were given the devastating news last week that centre-back Collins Sichenje will be out for the remainder of the season after picking up a knee injury in their EFL Cup second-round defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last month.

The Kenyan defender has yet to really get his Addicks career off on the right foot, after only making six appearances last season after arriving in January from FK Vojvodina, and this setback is definitely not what he would have wanted so early in his first full campaign at The Valley.

Billy Koumetio

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Also a victim of injury in the early stages of the cup exit against Spurs was Billy Koumetio, with Nathan Jones having to deal with an unprecedented double injury to both of his centre-backs a mere 15 minutes into the game.

The Addicks boss did state that the injury was "precautionary", but with the damage to the hamstring, his return to the pitch may still be a couple of weeks away.

Reece Burke

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And to make matters worse, before that game, fellow centre-back Reece Burke, who was tipped to start against Spurs, was ruled out through injury himself.

The 30-year-old is yet to feature in a matchday squad this season, though, and with him only managing 17 league appearances in each of the last two campaigns for both Luton Town and Charlton, his injury woes aren't uncommon for Addicks fans.

Kayne Ramsay

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Charlton's defensive injury crisis doesn't stop at centre-backs, either, with right-back Kayne Ramsay also yet to feature this season after going down with an ankle injury last month.

Speculation over his future away from The Valley was put to rest with a new four-year deal a couple of weeks ago, and with his initial diagnosis being just "a few weeks," it shouldn't be too long before the 25-year-old is back on the field.

Josh Edwards

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September 27th will mark a year since Josh Edwards last took to the field, with the 26-year-old suffering ankle ligament damage in a game against Blackburn Rovers, which ruled him out for the majority of last season.

Edwards should be on the tail end of his recovery, and he has been back in training for a couple of weeks now. Whether the matchup with QPR is too soon or not is still to be found out.

Charlie Kelman

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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

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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

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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

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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