Twelve players are expected to miss Charlton Athletic versus QPR, including a £5m star.

Charlton Athletic and Queens Park Rangers head into Wednesday night’s Championship meeting with a number of players expected to be unavailable, with 12 individuals potentially missing the clash at The Valley.

Danny McNamara will definitely be absent for Charlton after receiving a one-match suspension. The defender was shown two yellow cards within the space of just two minutes during Saturday’s encounter with Stoke City.

The 27-year-old appeared shocked by the referee’s decision, although there was little room for complaint over the second booking. McNamara had already been cautioned when he covered more than 30 yards to confront the official about a decision, putting himself in danger of receiving another yellow card.

His suspension comes at an unfortunate time for the Addicks, who are already dealing with several fitness concerns throughout their squad.

The Championship schedule has once again become congested, with clubs that have already been eliminated from the EFL Cup returning to league action in midweek.

Wednesday’s fixture at The Valley brings together two teams that had made encouraging starts to the Championship campaign. Both QPR and Charlton had remained unbeaten through their opening four league matches before suffering their first defeats of the season on Saturday.

Julien Stephan’s QPR side were narrowly beaten at home by Middlesbrough, while Charlton endured a much more difficult afternoon against Stoke. Nathan Jones’ team conceded four times during the opening 45 minutes at the bet365 Stadium and eventually suffered a heavy defeat.

Both clubs will therefore be determined to respond immediately.

QPR and Charlton had each collected 10 points from their first four matches, and neither manager will want those excellent opening results to become a distant memory after back-to-back defeats.

However, both teams will have to manage significant injury problems, with several important players expected to miss Wednesday’s London encounter.

Collins Sichenje

Charlton suffered a major blow last week when the club confirmed that centre-back Collins Sichenje is set to miss the remainder of the season.

The Kenyan defender sustained a serious knee injury during Charlton’s EFL Cup second-round defeat against Tottenham Hotspur last month.

Sichenje had already endured a difficult beginning to his time at The Valley. Since arriving from FK Vojvodina in January, he made only six appearances for the Addicks last season.

The latest injury represents another frustrating setback for the defender, particularly because he was hoping to establish himself during his first full season with the club.

Billy Koumetio

Billy Koumetio was another Charlton defender to suffer an injury during the early stages of the defeat against Tottenham.

Nathan Jones was forced to deal with an extraordinary situation when both of his centre-backs suffered problems within the first 15 minutes of the cup tie.

Although Jones described Koumetio’s injury as precautionary at the time, the hamstring problem could still keep him on the sidelines for several weeks.

Charlton’s defensive options have therefore been severely tested even before the Championship campaign has properly settled down.

Reece Burke

Reece Burke was already unavailable before Charlton travelled to face Tottenham.

The experienced centre-back had been expected to start the cup fixture but was ruled out because of an injury.

Burke has yet to make a matchday squad this season, continuing a frustrating period in which injuries have limited his availability.

The 30-year-old made only 17 league appearances in each of the previous two campaigns while playing for Luton Town and Charlton, meaning his latest absence is unfortunately familiar territory for supporters.

Kayne Ramsay

Charlton’s defensive problems also extend to the full-back positions.

Right-back Kayne Ramsay has not played this season after suffering an ankle injury last month.

The uncertainty surrounding his future was recently removed when the 25-year-old agreed a new four-year contract with the club.

His original injury diagnosis suggested that he would be sidelined for only a few weeks, meaning Charlton supporters will be hoping his return is now approaching.

Josh Edwards

Josh Edwards has been absent for an extended period and is approaching the anniversary of his last competitive appearance.

September 27 will mark a full year since the 26-year-old last played, with ankle ligament damage suffered against Blackburn Rovers ruling him out for much of the previous campaign.

There is some encouragement surrounding Edwards, however, as he has returned to training and has spent the last couple of weeks working with the squad.

Whether he has recovered sufficiently to be considered for the QPR game remains uncertain.

Charlie Kelman

Charlie Kelman is another Charlton player who has yet to make an appearance this season.

The American forward suffered an injury during a pre-season meeting with Colchester United and has been unable to build on the progress he made during his first full campaign at The Valley.

Kelman scored seven goals in 33 Championship appearances last season, including three goals during his final eight outings.

His late-season form had provided plenty of encouragement, but his current injury has prevented him from continuing that momentum into the new campaign.

Matty Godden

Matty Godden has made only two appearances so far this season and has subsequently missed the club’s last five matches in all competitions.

The striker’s latest setback came after he was forced off early during the opening-day Championship fixture against Derby County.

It has been another difficult period for the 35-year-old, who managed fewer than 300 league minutes last season because of knee and hamstring problems.

Charlton will hope he can eventually return to full fitness and provide another attacking option.

Ilias Chair

QPR’s defeat to Middlesbrough was made even more frustrating by injuries to key players.

Ilias Chair was forced to leave the pitch after only 14 minutes, with Koki Saito coming on as his replacement.

The Moroccan had begun the campaign positively after spending much of the previous season dealing with fitness issues.

Stephan has not completely ruled out a quick return, but given how soon the QPR game follows the Middlesbrough fixture, Chair may be given additional time to recover.

Richard Kone

Richard Kone is another QPR player whose availability remains uncertain.

The forward was substituted five minutes before half-time against Middlesbrough after suffering an injury.

Stephan indicated that the situation would need to be assessed during the opening part of the week.

If Kone is unable to recover in time, his absence could provide an opportunity for Justin Obikwu to make his QPR debut.

Obikwu has not yet featured since joining the club from Coventry City in January.

Alternatively, Rayan Kolli could be brought back into the team after also failing to make an appearance so far this season.

Boy Kemper

New QPR signing Boy Kemper will not be available for the trip to Charlton.

The defender suffered an ankle injury during his league debut against Portsmouth.

Stephan is not expecting the 27-year-old to return before the conclusion of the current international break, meaning he will definitely miss Wednesday’s contest.

Karamoko Dembele

Karamoko Dembele remains on the sidelines as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury suffered in February.

The 23-year-old is now approaching a return to team training and is expected to rejoin the squad within the coming weeks.

However, his complete recovery is still likely to take approximately another month.

With both Charlton and QPR eager to recover from their first league defeats of the season, the extensive list of absentees could have a major influence on Wednesday’s outcome.

Both sides have shown enough during the opening weeks of the campaign to suggest they can compete near the top of the Championship, but injuries and suspensions will now test the depth of their squads.

The question is which team can cope best with those missing players and return to winning ways at The Valley.