With all the furore and speculation surrounding midfielder Massimo Luongo, fans could be forgiven for thinking his recent absence was an ominous sign.

The 25-year old is on a 'period of leave' ruling him our of the final two matches of the season, but manager Ian Holloway has moved swiftly to kill rumours of a switch,

"Mass is set to go to the World Cup with Australia, which is brilliant for him and brilliant for QPR," he told QPR.co.uk.

"I can't tell you how proud I'll be to see a Rangers player playing on the biggest stage of them all this summer. We've had to think a bit long-term with this one because our priority is his health and well-being ahead of next season."

Proving he was indeed in his plans for next season, Holloway then explained the thinking behind the leave of absence.

"With that in mind - and to ensure he's back up-and-running as quickly as possible in pre-season - we've given him a couple of weeks off to rest-up ahead of him meeting up with the Socceroos, which will, in turn, allow us to get him back quicker than normal after the World Cup. At the same time, it will allow me to have a look at some of our younger midfielders in the last two matches of the season, so it's a win-win from that point of view."

Luongo joined QPR from Swindon in 2015 and has emerged this season as one of QPR's brightest and most talented players.

The Verdict

Say whatever you want, there's always going to be speculation when this sort of thing happens.

There's no assurances that two weeks off at the end of the season will make him fitter when he's back for the new season.

Fans will read much into this and if he performs well in Russia, it could mean more interest and more bids.