ON-LOAN winger Gareth Ainsworth will miss his third match running tomorrow after failing to recover from the calf injury he picked up on the training ground.

The 36-year-old QPR winger won’t travel with the team when they set off for Carlisle today and will instead turn his attention to trying to be fit for the following week’s battle with Oldham.

Ainsworth’s midfield partner Tommy Doherty is also a doubt for this weekend’s long trek north after another training ground mishap.

He turned his ankle on the practice ground seven days ago and missed Saturday’s win over Stockport.

The former Northern Ireland international only resumed training yesterday and Wanderers won’t take any risks with him ahead of the busy Christmas schedule.

If there is any doubt over his fitness manager Gary Waddock won’t let him board the bus because he doesn’t want the injury to stiffen up on today’s long coach trip, which the Blues will break up with a training session at Premiership Stoke City.

The ankle Doherty turned is the same one that he suffered ankle ligament damage to in July – a knock that kept him out until mid-October.

But this time the 30-year-old has only suffered mild ligament damage.

Those are Blues’ only fresh injury doubts ahead of tomorrow’s clash of the division’s two form sides.

Relegation-haunted Wanderers have shown promotion form of late, winning three out of their last four matches but they are still in the relegation zone.

And tomorrow they will come up against another form side.

The Cumbrians are unbeaten in four and Waddock knows his troops are in for a tough time.

Waddock said: “They are doing extremely well at the moment and we are going to have to be at the races because in the position we are in we need to win.

“We have done well recently but we have still got a lot of work to do.”