Luton will be without Amari’i Bell and Shandon Baptiste for a number of weeks as injuries begin to bite again, following the news that Teden Mengi has had surgery on a knee injury.
The defender and Baptiste both missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Swansea, while Bell limped out of the Championship clash in the 81st minute.
It has now been confirmed that the Jamaica international has injured the same hamstring he had surgery on last term, though it’s not thought to be as serious, after his season ended early in March against Aston Villa.
But it means, for the visit of Stoke City tomorrow night, the Hatters will be without the trio as well as Reece Burke (quad), Liam Walsh (hamstring), Alfie Doughty (ankle), Reuell Walters (broken foot).
Talking of the blow to Bell, Town boss Rob Edwards said: “I’ve just had the results of the scan now. It’s going to be a few weeks, hopefully just under three weeks. So, we’ll see. It’s a low-grade hamstring.
“I think this is a slightly different place (to last time). He had the surgery last year, but it’s in a slightly different place. But yes, it’s the same hamstring that he had done and had the surgery on last season.
“He’s played a lot of games. He’s not had a break for a number of years. He’s not getting any younger, Amari’i. And then obviously he’s had the surgery and then it’s difficult to be the exact same Amari’i Bell the exact same person that you were before that.
“So (we’re) just having to manage that at the moment and we want to get him back and get him fit and get him going, it’s been hard for him to try and find a rhythm at the moment. We’ve not been able to get the best out of him and then obviously now he’s a bit stop-start. So it’s a difficult situation. Hopefully we can get him back and get him going and keep him back.”
That will be the aim for Baptiste, who injured his calf in training between the Norwich and Swansea games.
“It’s hard to put a time on it,” said Edwards, adding: “(It’s) a really frustrating one, because after the game he’s reported a bit of tightness but didn’t think it was too serious. Again, on the training on the Tuesday after Norwich, tightness, but not too much of a problem. And then we’ve scanned it and there’s a bigger issue there than we thought. So, yeah, it’ll been a number of weeks, Shandon.”
The 26-year-old was signed in the summer having had a history of injury problems. It’s made for a stop-start season for the former Brentford man as he has only made 11 Championship appearances out of Luton’s 19 so far.
Edwards said: “He’s had injury issues, but I suppose, when he’s had injuries, they’ve been quite big ones and surgeries, and not like this calf, that he’s got now. So, that’s a new one. Really frustrating.
“We knew we were getting a really good footballer, but someone that hasn’t played as consistently. But we knew what we were signing, in. Shandon. We love him as a lad and as a person. We’ve got to, along with him, try and find a way to get him on the pitch more regularly.”
Be the first to comment