Luton Town boss Jack Wilshere says Mads Andersen faces a late fitness test ahead of tomorrow’s League One trip to Wycombe Wanderers, while Nigel Lonwijk has avoided serious injury after being stretchered off in midweek.
The Hatters head to Adams Park with several players at different stages of recovery, but Wilshere admitted Andersen’s availability remains the biggest immediate concern.
The Danish centre-back has been sidelined for the last nine days and has been working with the medical staff rather than training fully with the squad.
“He’s closer. He’s been on the grass with with the medical team, and we’re trying everything we can because we know how important he is,” Wilshere said of the centre half.
“Let’s see. I have to make that decision. We have to sit down with him again because I want him to be comfortable. I don’t want to put him in a position where he feels he might not quite be ready, or he might make it worse.”
Town are aiming to end a run of ten winless games on their travels, but Wilshere said: “While this game is really, really important for us and we understand where it sits, we want him available for the rest of the season as well.”
There was better news regarding Lonwijk after the defender was taken off on a stretcher at the end of the 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers earlier this week. The Dutchman combined with Joe Johnson to deny Donny a late winner, but he injured himself in the process and needed treatment after the final whistle blew.
Wilshere admitted the initial signs looked worrying but said the defender has already returned to training.
“Nigel’s all right. Thank God. I went over and he was in a lot of pain,” he said, adding: “But thankfully he’s all right. The pain settled down and he’s been on the grass today, so that’s a good sign.”
Striker Elijah Adebayo is edging closer to a return after stepping up his recovery with more minutes for the club’s under-21s this week.
“He’s definitely closer,” Wilshere said. “My message to him was be patient because after his first game, I saw real improvement. And then after this game, he played a little bit longer, he looked a little bit sharper.
“So yeah, he’s he’s definitely closer. And he’s desperate to get going.”
But transfer deadline day signing Sverre Sandal is still some way from first-team involvement after a quad injury following his arrival from Norway on February 2, where he had only just begun pre-season training.
“He’s probably a little bit further behind Elijah’s because of what he’s done in the last two or three months,” Wilshere explained.
“He obviously hasn’t played that much football. We want to get him right and make sure that when he comes back he’s ready to deal with the intensity.”
Meanwhile, Wilshere confirmed striker Ali Al-Hamadi will not be available for the weekend as he is still suffering with a heel injury.
“He’s just taken some time to heal. [It’s] frustrating for him, frustrating for us because we want him available,” said Wilshere.
Captain Kal Naismith was also left out of the starting line-up in midweek after his mistake saw Reading come from 2-1 down last weekend to win 3-2.
Explaining the skipper’s place on the bench at Doncaster, Wilshere said: “It was a little bit of a rest. [I’m] trying to help him a little bit because obviously, not just him, but the Reading game didn’t end how we wanted it to end.
“I think sometimes when it’s like that, to take someone out of the team just to give them breather.”
The Hatters face a tough task at Adams Park, where Wycombe have won their last four home league matches.
However, Luton can take confidence from their record in the fixture, having never lost an away Football League match against the Chairboys.
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