Luton have been handed a boost ahead of the trip to Oxford United tomorrow night with the return of Alfie Doughty after two-and-a-half months out injured.
The 24-year-old damaged his ankle ligament during the win over Cardiff on November 6, but carried on playing for the final few minutes after some treatment on the sidelines, due to Town having used all their substitutes.
“Alfie Doughty is back,” said new manager Matt Bloomfield, adding: “He’ll be included in the squad tomorrow evening which is great. He didn’t quite make the weekend, but it’s the right thing to have him ready for Tuesday.
‘We’re looking forward to working with Alfie. Again, he’s someone who everyone around the football club thinks really highly of. I know he’s a very, very good player. Missed a little while with his injury, but he’s back on the grass, looks quite sharp, so we’re looking to build him up as safely and securely as we possibly can, but it’s great to have him back.”
When he was fit, Doughty was the leading chance creator in the Championship and in recent weeks Luton have really felt his absence, bagging just two goals in their last six games.
The return of the wide man will be a welcome boost, but Bloomfield urged caution, due the length of his injury.
“He’s not ready to start,” said Bloomfield adding: “He’s had a little bit of time out and, whilst we’re looking forward to having him back, we’ve got to be responsible with him and build him up. He’s certainly someone who will be looking to get on the pitch if we can.”
Doughty has operated largely as a wing back under Rob Edwards, but in his first game in charge of Town, Bloomfield played a back four, so asked if Doughty could play as a left back or further forward, the manager said: “I think he could probably do either. I know he’s played most of his football as a wing back, and I think, depending on the options around him, will will dictate whether we use him as a full back or as a wide player.
“I think he can definitely have an imprint further up the pitch as a player, absolutely. So, I think he could probably play over those roles. And as time moves on, he’ll probably settle in one or the other.
“But there’s good competition for places in both and Amari’i is a really good player for this football club as well.
“So, we’ve got good competition on that left hand side, but if we can get Alfie on the pitch tomorrow night, I think it’ll be good.”
Doughty is the only returning Hatter from the Championship clash at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow night, with Tahith Chong and Lamine Fanne both missing the last two games.
“He’s still not back out on the grass yet,” said Bloomfield of Chong, who has suffered a hamstring injury.
“Obviously he had that when we came into the building, so we hope to have him back as soon as possible, but I don’t have a date on that right now.
“Just, a bit of a shame, really, because Tahith is someone who I was really looking forward to working with, and we haven’t had him back yet, but we look forward to having him as soon as possible.
“It’s (his) hamstring. It’s a shame, but an opportunity for other players.”
Midfielder Fanne, who made his debut in the 2-1 defeat at Queens Park Rangers earlier this month, and then started against Nottingham Forest in last week’s FA Cup exit, but he was withdrawn just after half time with an ankle injury.
He “isn’t far away,” said Bloomfield, adding: “He’s back out on the grass now, which is really, really good, but he’s not going to make the game tomorrow evening.”
Defender Reece Burke is also back in training, but Bloomfield is yet to put a timescale on his return, having been out for two months since the 3-0 defeat at Leeds in November.
The manager said: “A couple more of the longer term ones have just literally got back out on the grass the last couple of days, start to do some jogging and started being outside, which is quite a big, big moment when you’ve had sort of slightly longer injury. None of those guys are imminent, but it’s nice to see them back out on the grass and moving around.”
On Burke’s progress, Bloomfield “It’s not going to be imminent. He’s going to need a little bit of time to build himself up. The boys that have been out for a little while, we can’t rush that last part of their rehab. We have to give them the time that they need.
“I’m dictated to by the sports science guys, by the physios, but work alongside those guys. They don’t dictate, we don’t dictate we work together and make sure their plan is right.
“Those players need to be fit and ready to go when they’re fit to play, and they need to be fit and at it. Hopefully it’ll be quick. It’ll be great to welcome as many back as we possibly can, but I don’t think it’ll be in the in the near future, but it hopefully won’t be too far away.”
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