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Tom Carroll has been backed to follow in the footsteps of Spurs and England star Andros Townsend.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has been restricted to a handful of appearances for QPR since arriving on loan in September, but is due to return for Saturday's clash with Charlton after recovering from an ankle injury.

Townsend spent a spell at Loftus Road last season before forcing his way into Andre Villas-Boas' first-team plans on his return to White Hart Lane.

And Rangers midfielder Jermaine Jenas, who knows Carroll from his time in north London, says the highly-rated 21-year-old can emulate Townsend with a successful stint in W12.

He said: "Tom made the right decision coming here rather than playing Europa League games because the Championship is more competitive.

"He needs a lot more games at the top level to get that confidence. Hopefully his time here will have the same effect as it had for Andros."

Jenas added: "Tom went through a spell at Spurs where I don’t think they knew what was going to happen. He was very slight, but he’s worked very hard on his technique and fitness.

"He’s one of the players I use to see after training constantly working on his technique, so to see him grow into the player he is is nice."