Luton captain Tom Lockyer is back in contention for the Fulham trip on Saturday, but Amari’i Bell and Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu will need to be assessed for the Premier League clash after long journeys with their countries.
The captain missed out on featuring for Wales during the international break after injuring his thigh and missing out on Luton’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham a fortnight ago.
Bell was away with the Reggae Boyz again on international duty against Haiti and Honduras and only landed back in England at 10:30 this morning.
Manager Rob Edwards said: “A few of the lads have only just come back in (from international duty). Amari’i Bell only landed at 10:30 this morning, so we’ve got to assess him, but he’s fine.”
Bell has played every minute of Town’s four league and cup games this term and that’s after playing for Jamaica during the summer in the Gold Cup, where they reached the semi-final.
Edwards said: “It is something that we’ve got to be aware of as we don’t want to break him, he’s really important for us, he’s had a lot of travelling, played a couple of games again this week, without any break, got back in at 10.30 this morning, landed and was straight into training, so we’re going to have to get that right with him as well, as a really important player, but don’t want to break him.”
Mpanzu was part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo side that qualified for the next Africa Cup of Nations finals by beating Sudan 2-0.
Luton boss Edwards said: “Pelly trained today and Amari’i didn’t. Amari’i only landed at 10:30 this morning so we’ll assess him and see where he’s at, but it’s a long, long journey.
“Pelly as well, it’s a very long journey so there’ll be a little bit of tiredness there. So, we’ve got to make sure we assess him and get things right. We don’t want to put anyone in jeopardy.”
Issa Kaboré also trained with Town this morning having been away with the Burkino Faso squad, where he featured against Eswatini.
Speaking of the international break, the Hatters boss said: “It’s been good. We had six players away, so we’ve had a decent group to be able to work with. We’ve had a bit of rest time, but some really good work time as well.
“They boys might’ve wanted one or two more days off, but we’ll get there. But I think it’s been really good, really positive. A good feel about the place, good energy and I’ve seen a real focus going into what is a very big game.
“Everyone’s fit and available. Some of the long-term ones, Gabe Osho, Jordan Clark and Dan Potts, aren’t available, but we’ve got a good group to pick from.”
