WANDERERS will take any good fortune that falls their way right now – and the absence of the Championship’s top scorer definitely falls into that category as they head to Loftus Road.

While QPR fans may be down in the dumps at the prospect of Charlie Austin missing at least three weeks of football with a hamstring injury, the news has gone down rather well in these parts.

Austin has been joined on the injury list by Jamie Mackie – out for three months with a serious hamstring tear – leaving Chris Ramsey short on attacking options as he looks for only a second home win of the campaign.

Lennon greeted the news with cautious optimism, pointing out that QPR still have a squad to make most managers in the division green with envy.

But the fact that seven-goal striker Austin will not be a factor in tomorrow’s clash has undoubtedly been a boost for the Whites boss.

“If Charlie Austin is unavailable then it would be a big bonus for us,” he told The Bolton News. “But they have got great strength in depth – they have been a Premiership team two out of the last three years.

“I wouldn’t say they would be able to replace a player like Charlie but they’ll have some depth there and be able to make some changes.

“I think they can score goals from different areas of the park anyhow and they’ve got some great experience.”

Lennon is also wary of a side scorned in last Friday’s West London derby against Fulham.

Ross McCormack put on a master-class at Craven Cottage in a 4-0 win that leaves QPR boss Chris Ramsey badly needing a result going into the international break.

Yet Wanderers’ form away from the Macron has been nothing to shout about, with their last win all the way back at Cardiff on Easter Monday.

All of which sets up a finely-balanced game in what will be Lennon’s first managerial trip to Loftus Road.

“I don’t think you can question QPR’s quality even though it wasn’t a great result against Fulham,” he said. “I’m sure they’ll look to bounce straight back from that, so it’s something we would need to be wary of.

“But we have to improve our away form – that is a real bug bear of mine at the moment – and it’s something that we will really be looking at before the game.”

Austin was subject to interest from Leicester City and Crystal Palace after toppling out of the Premier League with QPR last season.

And the fact the £14million rated striker stayed on in West London came as some surprise to Lennon, who has remained a fan from afar.

“I don’t know the situation but when a striker has scored as many goals as he has in a team that got relegated it speaks volumes about his quality and his temperament,” he said.

“He likes scoring goals and he’s done it all his career so, yes, I suppose I’m a bit surprised that someone has not come in for him but perhaps he likes the environment he’s working within at QPR?”

The two sides on show tomorrow are separated by four points and seven places in the league table but Lennon disputes the suggestion that this could be a “good time” to face QPR.

“We’ve seen already there is nothing between the teams in this league, it just hasn’t settled down yet because we’re only nine games in,” he said.

“I certainly feel we should be in a better position in the table but that will only happen if our away form improves.

“It’s still all very tight so a couple of wins can make all the difference.

“You can throw a blanket over 15, 20 clubs so getting that consistency is the key if you want to be up there.

“It’s easier said than done, though, I mean Fulham beat QPR 4-0 and then got beat 3-0 themselves in midweek. How do you figure that one out?

“We matched the team at the top of the table last weekend and I personally thought we were good enough to win the game. I don’t think there was anything in the game to suggest we were down towards the bottom and they were riding high at the top.

“There really is nothing in it, so we should go to QPR and feel confident we can get a result and start to climb the table.”