Luton boss Rob Edwards will wait until the 11th hour before tomorrow’s West Brom game to assess the fitness of Shandon Baptiste and Teden Mengi, but admitted he may have to take some risks as he tries to plug gaps in an injury-ravaged side.
The suspensions of Alfie Doughty and Tom Holmes on Saturday have exacerbated a backline crisis that has Mengi, Mads Andersen, Reece Burke, Amari’i Bell and Reuell Walters all crocked, with just Mark McGuinness as the only recognised and available centre half.
“When you’ve got six centre backs missing, then it’s inevitable you’re going to concede goals. And that’s just that’s just the nature of it at the moment,” said Edwards, who saw his side cough up a 2-0 lead at Coventry on Saturday to lose 3-2.
“Today and tomorrow we’ll give some people as much time as possible and we’ll see. We’ll try and put a strong team out. And if we have to take some risks with people then we will do, because the position that we’re in. We all need, and I need, a result.”
As a midfielder, Baptiste won’t help the defensive options, but he and centre back Mengi are the closest to full fitness, but still Edwards said: “It wasn’t looking great today. But because it’s a night game as well, we can try and give people as much time as possible. Shandon’s certainly closer than Teden.”
Weighing up the risks of fielding players that aren’t fully fit, the Hatters boss admitted it would be “a danger” and added: “Ideally, you don’t want to do that. We want to try and always put square pegs and square holes, if we can. So, That’s certainly our aim, whichever way we go about it.”
Right back Daiki Hashioka has played as a centre half in the last two games, while academy graduate Joe Johnson, also a full back, has featured this term, so there are some options and Edwards said: “We might have to look at other things, whether there’s a different way or someone else gets an opportunity. So we’ll see how we have to go. We’re trying. We will, as always, try to field the team that we think can win the game.”
Providing an update on his injured defenders, the manager started with Burke’s groin injury, saying: “No, (it’s) not long term, but it’s still a few weeks. But it wasn’t as bad as we thought it could be. Which is really a good bit of news. It’ll be a couple of weeks, I think.
“Amari’i, he’s been doing well. I thought at one stage he’s going to be back quicker than what he was. He felt one or two other things as well while he’s been doing the rehab, from the hamstring.
“But Amari’i has been doing really well. So we’re, obviously, at the moment, in the situation where we’re pushing him as hard as possible. We’ll give time to him again. It’s doubtful. And there’s a big element of risk there, but we’ll see.
“It’s probably too soon for Mads, I think, because he’s had so many different types (of injuries), hamstrings, calves or whatever, and when he’s come back, it’s just been, for whatever reason, something else has just popped up. It’s only right that we make sure when he’s back that that hopefully he can stay back.”
The injury problems, particularly to key defenders have been a blight on Luton’s 2024, with a crisis rarely loosening its grip since February, when they were in the Premier League.
Asked if it’s just bad luck, Edwards said: “It’s not bad luck. Some of it is. A heart attack (to Tom Lockyer), for instance, and things like that. Some of it is it just happens, that we’ve had to deal with. Not many other people have to.
“But I was reading yesterday, Pep’s (Guardiola) talking about they’re down to 13 players at Manchester City. I think it’s sort of spread quite far and wide. We weren’t the only team to suffer injuries.
“The intensity of football now the schedule, Wednesday night to Saturday early kick-off is 12 hours less recovery time from a Saturday to Tuesday. That makes it difficult as well. And we’ve got another one of those next week.
“But there’s too many things to talk about now, but, no, it’s not all bad luck. Some of it is and some of it is down to lots of circumstances. You have one or two injuries, then you have to put more pressure on other people and they break down.
“Sometimes people come back and, for whatever reason, then you have a different kind of injury. They’ve got to step up quick. There’s loads to be honest, but we’re not the only ones to be having those problems.”
