Barnsley head into their game against QPR on Saturday in desperate need of three points to keep themselves in with a chance of surviving in the Championship this season. 

The Tykes were forced to settle for a point against Reading in midweek, and they'll be frustrated after they missed a number of good opportunities to give themselves breathing space before Lucas Joao scrambled home an equaliser for the visitors on Wednesday.

The result means that Barnsley are still rooted to the bottom of the second tier standings, and more alarmingly, Gerhard Struber's side are now seven points adrift of safety heading into the potentially season-defining festive period.

They take on a QPR side that are starting to find some form in recent weeks, and the Hoops will be confident of adding to Barnsley's woes after an impressive 2-0 win over Birmingham in midweek.

So, it certainly won't be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination for the Tykes, but they'll know that they have to get something out of this game to stand a chance of retaining their status in the Championship, and avoiding an immediate relegation back into League One.

We take a look at the players that are currently injured in Struber's squad as we head towards the festive period, which could make or break their season.

Ben Williams

Williams was forced off shortly after Barnsley took the lead against Reading through Cauley Woodrow's clinical finish from eight yards out.

Williams hasn't been at his best this season, but dealt with the attacking threat well from the Royals on Wednesday, and he'll be frustrated that he will be out of action against Mark Warburton's side.

Speaking in a pre-match press conference ahead of the game, Gerhard Struber revealed that Williams picked up a muscle injury in the draw against Reading and is set to be replaced by former Leeds youngster Clarke Odour at left-back against QPR this weekend.

Aapo Halme 

Halme has been out of action since the defeat against Cardiff City with an ankle injury, and it seems highly unlikely that he'll be risked ahead of this game against the Hoops.

He did pick up his fifth yellow card of the season in the game against the Bluebirds, which led to him being suspended for hte game against Reading.

Struber has stated that the young defender has trained this week as he continues his recovery from injury, but with Bambo Diaby and Mads Juel Anderson putting in a relatively strong performance against Reading in midweek, it wouldn't be a disaster if Halme wasn't thrown straight back into the starting XI.

With a hectic festive schedule coming up, it's important that Struber keeps the key members of his squad fit and available, so he could be tempted to play the waiting game with Halme.