JO KUFFOUR'S stay at the County Ground will come to an end this week if Roy Evans cannot give the striker guarantees about the future direction of the club.
The youngster is due in London tonight (Wednesday) as part of the Town squad to face QPR but he may well find himself returning to the capital twice in the space of a week if off- the-field squabbles continue.
His three-month deal expires on Saturday and the likelihood is he will be returning to Arsenal.
Evans said: "Jo is caught up in the current uncertainty as much as everyone.
"I have to look after Jo and also Arsenal. I have too much respect for the lad to mess him about.
"If nothing is sorted out about the club's future in the next few days then I think we'd have to be sensible and send him back.
"What do I tell him at the moment. He may have questions that I just can't answer."
However, Kuffour remains part of Evans' plans for tonight's clash with Ian Holloway's side.
Town's director of football has warned against complacency.
Evans said it would be foolish to read too much into QPR's thrashing by Swansea in the FA Cup.
He said: "When you go a goal or even two down in a cup tie, you have to go chasing the game.
"You then leave yourself open and that's what happened to QPR.
"We have to make sure we seize the initiative right from the start and don't give them a chance to build up their confidence."
Evans remembers tussling with QPR for the old First Division title in 1975/76, but the days of QPR challenging Liverpool are long gone.
Evans said: "Football can be cruel. It can take a long. long time to reach the top but it never takes as long to fall back."
Although Evans will be able to call on Kuffour and Wayne Carlisle once again, Paul Edwards is unlikely to shake off his knee injury and a family bereavement means Bobby Howe will also be absent.
"We still have a few niggles but you come to expect that. But overall I don't think we're too bad at the moment and there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
"People like Sol Davis and James Williams are making progress and that's heartening. But QPR is the immediate priority.
"We need to get back to winning ways and the sooner the better."
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