Izzy Brown is fit and available to face Stoke City, with Kazenga LuaLua close to a return, though boss Graeme Jones has hailed his Hatters for finding a way to win without them.
Due to a bout of tonsillitis, the Chelsea loan ace has not featured since an impactful seven-minute cameo in the 1-0 win at Middlesbrough on February 15.
He replaced LuaLua that day and the winger has not featured since either, nor has captain Sonny Bradley. While the defender won’t be ready until next week’s clash at Wigan, but Brown has trained for the last two days and LuaLua will be “very close,” according to Jones.
The manager added: “I’m delighted to have Izzy Brown back. Izzy’s an important player, full stop. I’ve said that from minute one. He gives you something different that we haven’t got at the football club.
“Izzy didn’t play at Middlesbrough, played 15 minutes. Izzy didn’t play against Brentford. What I like about our performances is that we’ve been winning games without him because that shows the strength of your football club.
“Obviously, having him back gives you something different which, used at the right time, can help us as well.”
A hard-fought 2-1 victory over promotion-chasing Brentford on Tuesday night has lifted belief that Town can achieve a great escape and avoid relegation, particularly as it was achieved without the likes of Brown and LuaLua.
Jones said: “We couldn’t do it two months ago, so that’s how far other players have come. That’s where it’s satisfying for me because I don’t think any football club should rely on one or two individuals.
“I think Hull have suffered since they lost (Kamil) Grosicki and (Jared) Bowen, for example. We need to have a wider spectrum than that.
“We need to have answers for different teams and different tactical opponents and different strategies that we put against us.
“The other night (against Brentford) was a good example of us finding a way of winning with the group of players that were available, and a really strong performance.”
The relegation six-pointer against Stoke tomorrow is Town’s third game in a week, which Jones has always cautioned is the toughest game to play, from a physical perspective.
Asked if he’ll make personnel changes, the manager said: “I’m still assessing that. It’s the first time that we’ve played a three league game Championship week and our final game is at home, so that’s an advantage for us because we haven’t had to travel like we did going up to Middlesbrough , then we did Fulham and Birmingham.
“The only time we’ve been at home is the Cardiff week in August when it was a League Cup game.
“We’ve managed to be in our own beds for four nights, from a recovery point of view. So, again, I’m still assessing that to see how everybody is, the tactical plan for Stoke and what we need to do and where we are physically and mentally.
“But it’s nice that we’ve had two home games back-to-back. It’s the first time that’s happened in eight months.”
