Luton manager Matt Bloomfield admitted he was “gutted” after three players picked up injuries during a 2-0 pre-season victory at Southend United, despite another encouraging preparation run-out ahead of the new League One campaign.
Cauley Woodrow opened the scoring with a tap-in before January signing Lasse Nordås continued his strong pre-season form with a second-half strike, but the result was overshadowed by knocks to Teden Mengi, Mads Andersen and Joe Johnson — all of whom were forced off.
“I’m really disappointed for Ted. I feel for Ted,” Bloomfield told the club’s X, adding: “[It was] just a strong tackle, I haven’t seen it back yet, so I need to see it back. The boy, as he’s hit him, just got his ankle a little bit so we need to get that scanned and see how he is. I feel gutted for Ted.”
Andersen was withdrawn midway through the first half after an accidental poke to the eye, though Bloomfield confirmed the injury was not serious.
“Mads was just a finger in the eye, a poke to the eye, and he had a little bit of [poor] vision, so we just needed to make sure he was alright. It wasn’t concussion or anything, it was just a finger to the eye,” he said.
A bigger concern, however, may lie with young full-back Johnson, who has impressed in recent outings, but damaged his hamstring.
“I feel really gutted for Joe, actually, because I thought that on Saturday, when he came on against Gillingham, he stood up to the challenge really well,” said Bloomfield.
“Tonight, I thought he was very, very good. In the last couple of games I’m really pleased with how he’s developing, Joe. We know there’s a player in there, so it’s been nice to see it coming out. I’m just gutted that he’s going to get that scanned and see how it is.”
With Luton’s League One opener at home to AFC Wimbledon on Friday 1 August fast approaching, the injury setbacks are a timely blow to Bloomfield’s preparations — though the ongoing form of Nordås, who has now netted in four goals in five friendlies, remains a positive.
