QPR will be without striker Charlie Austin ahead of the visit of his old club Burnley.

Rangers' top scorer hit his 15th goal of the season in the 2-1 win over Bolton on Tuesday night but had to go off after suffering a shoulder injury and has since been ruled out for a "prolonged period" after scans showed he needs an operation.

Joey Barton hopes to be fit after missing the last two matches due to a thigh injury but fellow midfielder Yossi Benayoun is struggling with a groin problem.

Right-back Danny Simpson faces a spell on the sidelines with a back injury but winger Junior Hoilett is fit after hamstring trouble.

Burnley, meanwhile, will hand late fitness tests to Keith Treacy and Daniel Lafferty ahead of their top-of-the-table crunch clash with QPR.

The Clarets, now trailing Harry Redknapp's second-placed team by three points, missed both winger Treacy (neck) and full-back Lafferty (thigh) in the midweek draw against Brighton and will see how the pair come through Thursday's training session.

Boss Sean Dyche could include Ross Wallace for the first time since August, though, after the winger came through a midweek cup game with Oldham and showed no adverse reaction to a knee injury.

Ben Mee is also considered fully-fit once more having played all of Tuesday's contest following a recent thigh problem.