Adebayo fit to face Stoke as Jones gives update on Burke, Doughty and Pelly

Elijah Adebayo
Elijah Adebayo. Photo by Liam Smith

Elijah Adebayo is fit to face Stoke on Saturday, while boss Nathan Jones has given updates on the availability of Reece Burke, Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Alfie Doughty. 

Striker Adebayo has endured a frustrating start to the season in front of goal, failing to find the net in his eight Championship appearances this term. 

The 24-year-old limped off after 55 minutes in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Wigan and Jones said: “He just picked up a knock, got a cut on his hip, we expect him to be fit, so let’s see, he trained today, so not a problem.”

The Luton boss also called on the frontman to find his way out of his barren spell, saying: “He’s a relatively young boy who is finding his way at Championship level, and he’s had such a meteoric rise.

“Remember, with the greatest of respect, he came from Walsall, we put him in earlier than we thought, he responded to that, then last year he had probably three-quarters of the season he was excellent.

“Then he was suffering from a bit of fatigue, so he has to find a way now where he gets back to the levels.

“Now, that’s up to him as well, it’s not just us, he has to find those levels, but he works hard, he’s a great kid and he’s getting chances, so it’ll come.

“Things will come, but strikers have to play their way through this, dry spells, or spells where they’re not as fluent as usual, but all good strikers come through.”

Reece Burke
Reece Burke. Photo by Liam Smith

Defender Burke missed Saturday’s defeat to Wigan after his half-time head injury withdrawal at Cardiff the previous Tuesday. 

“We just didn’t take any chances with him,” said Jones, adding: “We’ve got real strength in the squad but he missed a game so he couldn’t play in it. 

“We didn’t make a concussion sub, so there wasn’t any protocols to follow, but we just had to do our due diligence. 

“It (Wigan) came a bit quick after the clash of heads, so we decided to leave him out, but he’s in a better position now than he was last Saturday.”

Alfie Doughty
Alfie Doughty. Photo by Liam Smith

There are still two players that have yet to feature this term, but Mpanzu and summer signing Doughty have both returned to training. 

Jones said: “Alfie’s actually trained for a number of weeks. We’ve just been cautious with him. Pelly will need games. He’s been out for a long time now. He looks really good in training. 

“He’s a super athlete anyway, so it’s just about building him up to a level where he can play games.

“Once he does that, he’s real quick at getting fit. He’s excellent at that. He works so hard every day, so he has natural fitness and he’s a super athlete.”