Luton boss Rob Edwards has backed Mads Andersen to come back stronger after the defender was ruled out for a couple of months with a hamstring injury.
The Dane limped out of the 1-0 Premier League defeat to Tottenham just before the international break and the results have since come back, leaving him sidelined, though Town have been boosted by the ahead-of-schedule return of Gabriel Osho.
The Hatters manager said of Andersen: “He’s still injured, unfortunately. It was quite a nasty hamstring injury, so he’s going to be a couple of months, so it’s a real shame.
“He’s another one that’s a great professional, an amazing attitude. He comes in smiling every day. You can see he’s frustrated now, but he still smiles. He’ll come back stronger and better for this. We want to try to keep him as involved as possible.
“He’s out there watching the tactical parts of the session. I’ve encouraged him to come up and talk to us around the game plan and stuff, so he’s still thinking about the game and keeping switched on from that point of view.
“It’s tough. It’s part of football but it’s a really difficult part. It’s something that we weren’t really expecting. He’s such a good pro and a really good athlete, strong boy, but sometimes, you can’t predict them. We’ll support him and come back better.”
It’s another defensive injury after Amari’i Bell was also withdrawn early in the 2-1 defeat to Burnley, also with a hamstring issue.
The Jamaican international is closer to a return but won’t be available for tomorrow’s trip to Nottingham Forest. Dan Potts also remains out and the defender has not featured this term with an ankle injury but Edwards revealed he too has a hamstring and a “neural thing” that the club is trying to solve.
“We’ve still got enough there,” said Edwards of his defensive options, adding: “I’m confident with what we have with Gabe coming back as well. I don’t want any injuries. I’d love to have a full squad to pick from and have some difficult decisions, but it almost picks itself.”
Osho has not featured competitively since the Championship play-off final, but there is good news for the centre half as Edwards said: “(He’s) a little bit ahead os schedule. That’s full credit to Gabe, all of the staff, the medical team and the sports science team as well, they’ve put a lot of time and effort along with Gabe to get him in this position now. He’s someone we’ll have to manage. (I don’t want) people to expect too much, too soon in terms of minutes but he’s a really important player for us.
“He was massive for us last year and I’ll never forget that. He played a huge role in the team’s promotion, so I’m really pleased to have him back out on the grass.”
When he gets his chance Osho will been in at the deep end, having not played Premier League football before, but the manager said: “I think if anyone’s capable it’s him. He’s a naturally gifted athlete and someone who’s very intelligent as well, and switched on. I back him to step up to any challenge. I think the level he was performing at last year was like a Premier League footballer anyway. So, I expect him to come in and be able to handle it very well.”
Midfielder Jordan Clark is also back on the grass at Town’s The Brache training headquarters and Edwards said: “We’ve got some coming back, which is good. It’s not as damaging as it could’ve been because we’ve got players coming back.”
