Mackie wishes Naismith all the best

Jamie Mackie struck a superb goal after injury to Steven Naismith presented him with the chance to make his Scotland comeback against Cyprus - but the QPR player is desperate for his colleague to return as soon as possible.

Mackie was handed a start in the wide left position recently occupied by Naismith, who suffered cruciate ligament damage two weeks ago, and cut inside brilliantly to slot home Scotland's second goal in a 2-1 victory in Larnaca.

But, having just returned from a nine-month lay-off from a broken leg in recent weeks, Mackie is not looking to take Naismith's place, and said: "I'm gutted for Naisy, he's a great lad. I was in the squad with him the first time I was here and I really liked him. I've been there with a bad injury and I wish him all the best."

He added: "More so than me doing well, I hope he comes back nice and strong because it's horrible when you get a bad injury.

"I'm sure he'll be back and I can't wait for him to be back in the squad because the more quality we have the better."

Mackie suffered his injury in an FA Cup tie against Blackburn in early January having propelled his career up several levels in the first half of the season.

The former Plymouth player hit a goal spree in the first few months of his Loftus Road career, which saw him win a Scotland call-up.

Mackie then scored his first goal for Scotland against the Faroe Islands - but he had to wait a year for his fourth cap.

"It (the injury) was just a nightmare, it was terrible timing," said the 26-year-old, who has made five Barclays Premier League appearances since his return. "I was doing really well for my club, going for promotion and really frustrating missing the qualifiers.

"I had just become a regular part of the squad so I was gutted. But that's in the past, I put in a lot of hard work to get myself back at this level. Now I feel I'm back and have a bit more experience."