Nathan Jones has revealed the Joe Morrell has been out with a heel problem and now has to maintain his fitness and make sure he’s better than Luton’s other midfielders in training to force his way in the side.
The Welsh International is now back in contention ahead of Luton’s Championship clash at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
The 24-year-old was signed for £250,000 from Bristol City in the summer, but has found first team starts had to come by, with just eight appearances in total, the last of which came almost four weeks ago in the 1-0 FA Cup third round win over Reading.
There were question marks over what had happened to the highly-rated midfielder when Glen Rea started as a substitute against Brentford last week, but Morrell didn’t even make the squad.
But today, manager Jones said: “We’ve got Joe Morrell coming back, Joe Morrell has had an injection in his heel which made him miss a bit of game time.
“It’s been unfortunate for Joe as just when he comes close to getting a run, he picks up some little thing, which we have to pull him out.
“So, it’s’ been a frustrating time for him, but apart from him, Martin Cranie is back in training, so we’re in a decent place.
“I wouldn’t say it hasn’t worked out for him, he’s come into a very good side, so it would be disrespectful to the others that are here, to say that he is frustrated as he should be this, he should be that.
“We have six midfield players that are now competing at a high level in training, and Joe has had opportunities and has been good when he has taken those opportunities.
“We want Joe to be a real success here, but it’s not just about Joe Morrell, it’s about everyone else, we have people who are doing really well and there’s only three midfield berths for example, so there’s real competition.
“So, Joe has to make sure that he’s fit for long periods of time, (that) he’s better than those in training and then when he gets opportunities, he takes them and that’s the same for everyone else.”
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