Mark Warburton facing anxious wait over Jordan Archer injury
Posted Sunday, January 09, 2022 by PA
QPR boss Mark Warburton admitted he faces a potential goalkeeper crisis after Jordan Archer was injured while making the decisive save in the penalty shoot-out win against Rotherham.
Archer’s stop from Chiedozie Ogbene took the Championship side through to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
But he appeared to seriously hurt his shoulder in the process and was taken straight to hospital after several minutes of treatment on the pitch.
It leaves Rangers with a problem because back-up keeper Archer was playing in the absence of Seny Dieng, who is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Warburton is therefore likely to need to bring in a keeper or turn to teenager Joe Walsh, who is yet to make a first-team appearance for the club.
He said: “The medical team have taken over, looked after Jordan and he’ll get great care. He’s gone straight to hospital and we’ll see how he is.
“He’s landed on his left shoulder. I’ll get a phone call later to tell me how he is. He’s in good hands.
“It does leave us with a potential problem, although we’ve got Joe Walsh who has done very well.
“We might have to do something. We’ll have to see what’s available and what we can do.
“Joe is a bright young keeper with a good future ahead of him, though. If needed then I’ve no doubt he’ll step up.”
League One leaders Rotherham went ahead eight minutes into extra time when Wes Harding’s long diagonal ball from the right dropped to fellow defender Michael Ihiekwe, whose low shot went in off the far post.
Rangers equalised when Lyndon Dykes’ header from Albert Adomah’s right-wing cross was tipped against the underside of the bar by Josh Vickers but the ball then ricocheted off the keeper’s back and over the line.
Warburton admitted: “Rotherham are very good at what they do. They’re very direct, can kill a game and make it very hard to have rhythm and tempo to it.
“We fell into their trap and didn’t impose ourselves on the game. I felt it was a scrappy game and we didn’t move the ball very well.
“We got dragged into a challenging game. They’re better at what they do than we are at what they do.
“We didn’t impose ourselves on the game. But all credit to the players, they found a way to win.”
Rotherham boss Paul Warne said: “It’s not nice to lose on penalties of course but fair play to QPR for winning it.
“I thought in the first half we might have edged it, although they created better chances and have a bit more of a cutting edge than we have.
“Our keeper kept us in it and in the second half I thought we were a little bit better and had a bit more of a threat.
“I just felt that the longer the game went on the better we were. To get a goal in extra time was good but we just didn’t have enough to hold on.
“All in all, the lads have done really well and are in good form. And it was a good game of football.
“Both teams were attacking and it felt like we had a corner and then they had a corner. But, again, fair play to QPR.”
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