Queens Park Rangers have been handed a boost before a busy period for the club, with goalkeeper Liam Kelly returning to full training.
The ‘keeper has been out for six weeks with a torn quadriceps, with his last game coming on November 2 against Leeds as they lost 2-0, according to reports from West London Sport.
So far this season the two have somewhat shared the position between the sticks. 23-year-old Kelly has played six out of the 22 games, while Joe Lumley has played 16, though the Scotsman has, of course, had to miss a large chunk of games through injury.
In slightly less positive news, defender Yoann Barbet looks as if he will be out for a few weeks due to a setback while in the process of returning from a thigh strain. The centre-half now has a calf problem which will see him miss a big chunk of the Christmas fixtures – an injury which won’t be welcomed considering he hasn’t featured since mid-October when the Rs played Reading.
Who should be QPR's number one?
Liam Kelly
Joe Lumley
In terms of the goalkeepers, Mark Warburton now has a decision to make in terms of who he fancies as his number one. Clean sheets have been a struggle at the club this season, and conceding five away to bottom of the league Barnsley is good evidence that they have some defensive frailties.
Looking at their statistics, there isn’t too much between the two of them. According to WhoScored, Liam Kelly is the pick of the pair, though neither of them making pretty reading. Based on their average ratings, Lumley has averaged just 6.05/10 from his 16 games at the club, giving him the 19th highest average rating overall for the whole squad. Kelly’s is slightly better with 6.22/10 – the 17th highest in the squad, though he does have a smaller pool of data to choose from.
It’s a positive that Kelly has returned to full fitness, however, based on the fact that Lumley has put in a few strong performances before the Barnsley game, he should have enough to have the number 1 spot at the moment.