Does anyone know when he's back? We've missed him in our submissive defence. Was reportedly only weeks away when Critchley was in charge. Of course, that could have been 52 weeks, for all I know. Then read where he was due back after the international break. Will we see him on April 1? He signed on a one year contract, so ... maybe he's not coming back in hoops (at least not the real hoops). This from "The 72", by Luke Phelps back on 6 Feb. 2023. "Balogun, 34, joined QPR on a one-year deal back in August. The former Rangers man immediately impressed under Michael Beale, raking up 12 Championship appearances before coming off early in the 2-1 defeat at home to Huddersfield Town back in November. The R’s played out the reverse fixture on Saturday, drawing 1-1. Critchley has only won once since taking charge and the absence of an experienced player in Balogun is certainly helping to derail QPR’s season. So what’s the latest on the centre-back’s situation? The latest on Balogun… Back in December, Critchley revealed that he was close to having a fully-fit squad. Stefan Johansen has since returned and Luke Amos returned to the matchday squad over the weekend too, but Balogun remains sidelined along with Lyndon Dykes who’s battling pneumonia right now. Last month though, West London Sport revealed that Balogun had seen a specialist about his calf injury. David McIntyre wrote that ‘the specialist has given the green light’ for Balogun to ‘step up his training and it is hoped he will be back in action sooner rather than later’. Critchley went on to say: “We’ve got some good news regarding Leon. He can step up his progress, but he’s still a little bit away at the moment.” That was two weeks ago and nothing has been said on Balogun since. But like with Johansen’s injury, QPR seem to be keeping Balogun’s return to action on the down-low. With four more games to play in February and then four in the space of two weeks in March before the international break, it seems like that the March international break is the target for Balogun. If he can return either side of the two week break then it’ll give him the chance to play a final part in QPR’s season which could still end in success, despite the club’s struggles in recent weeks. Having Balogun back will certainly be a boost for Critchley and his struggling side."
