QPR v Huddersfield Town – Numbers add up to show Daniel Sinani is quick to adapt to Championship life

The Luxembourger joined on loan from Norwich City late in pre-season but has never played for the Canaries, loaned out to Belgian side Waasland-Beveren last term.

English football is different, notoriously different. It was always going to take time for the inside-forward to adapt.

But as early-season bolters Sorba Thomas and Josh Koroma show signs of fading, Sinani travels to Queens Park Rangers this evening with his graph heading in the opposite direction.

While Corberan attributes Thomas’s dip from a high starting point to managing life on the Championship treadmill – with his form so good, his international breaks have taken him away with Wales too – the numbers tell him the extra minutes in the legs are helping Sinani.

As modern players are tracked in training and matches by GPS systems, Corberan knows the 24-year-old ran a season’s-high 13km at Cardiff City, where he scored his first goal for the club, including 1.2km of high-intensity sprints. He then played two internationals and returned to score the only goal at home to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

“We normally say if a player is too fatigued he cannot achieve his highest physical value but sometimes the more players are playing, the more habit they have for the situation,” noted Corberan.

“He didn’t really have pre-season with us and was adapting to the club after the start of the season. It’s a competition he’s not played in before and some players need more time to adapt, but just from a GPS point of view I can see Sinani is more ready to play in the Championship.

“He’s very humble and very self-demanding and wants to be an important player. He’s never going to look for any excuses when he’s not playing well, and players that have that determination are better able to find that level they need.

“He has the ability to adapt very well to a different style of life, he’s very concentrated on his work and very mature.

“The international experience helps him.

“The challenge for players, especially players who don’t have experience of playing (many games) in a row in the Championship, is to keep their level at their best every time they are on the pitch. It’s an issue for Sorb.”

Tom Lees is set to return after illness tonight, and the Terriers will assess Duane Holmes, back in training after injury.

Last six games: Queens Park Rangers WDWDDL; Huddersfield Town WLDWLD

Referee: G Scott (Oxfordshire)

Last time: Queens Park Rangers 0 Huddersfield Town 1, March 13, 2021, Championship.