Alejandro Faurlin may be QPR’s third longest-serving player, but the Rangers midfielder believes he must prove himself at Loftus Road all over again.

QPR’s promotion-winning 2010-11 campaign feels like a long time ago for Faurlin; the Argentine midfielder is the first to admit that his career has stuttered and stumbled since he helped Neil Warnock’s team to reach the Premier League.

The first of a series of setbacks came in the FA Cup match against MK Dons in January 2012.

Faurlin ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament, and wasn’t to feature again for QPR until a League Cup clash against Walsall seven months later.

The second blow came earlier this year, when Faurlin was loaned out to Palermo until the end of the 2012-13 season. The loan became frustrating, with the 27-year-old making just six appearances before he was shipped back to Loftus Road.

Now, playing under Harry Redknapp – his third QPR manager in three years – Faurlin knows he will have to prove his worth all over again. But with a potentially career-ending injury already behind him, he is determined to get his career back on track.

“My first year was perfect in a tough situation, I got player of the year,” said Faurlin, whose contract expires at the end of the season. “Second year when we got promoted it was another good year. Now I need to carry on and prove myself – here or wherever.

“I am one of the longest players here, I have played 120 games for the club. It’s not like I have been here a year. I had six months on loan and six months with injury.

“It makes you better, you have to push and improve. The gaffer has changed the place around and things are looking really good. It is a strong team.”

With Redknapp appearing to rule out the possibility of Faurlin leaving QPR on loan this season, the midfielder looks set to play his part in another promotion push.

He has already played six times this campaign, despite the summer arrivals of Karl Henry and Tom Carroll, and the ever-improving form of Joey Barton.

And Faurlin welcomes the competition for places. “It has been difficult but I never give up. I am a fighter, don’t worry about that,” he added. “Sometimes you are unlucky. At Palermo we changed manager four times in a month and a half. People come in and ask you what position you play because they do not know. You need to get on with it, be a man and professional and carry on.

“Until my injury I played almost every single game for this club. I proved myself. You have to prove yourself on the field. I will keep fighting and keep trying.”