Osho out for season as Jones gives updates on Luton’s injured stars ahead of Posh clash

Gabriel Osho will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring problem, Luton manager Nathan Jones has confirmed, while he gave an updated on Town’s other injured stars ahead of tonight’s trip to Peterborough United. 

The defender-turned-midfielder has been missing for a month after leaving the field early during the 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.  

“Osho will be out for the season because of his hamstring injury,” said Jones, adding: “It’s a real blow. Because of the relentless schedule and because of injuries to other midfield players, he had to play more than we would have liked. 

“When people say, ‘we change the team’, if you don’t do that and we play like we do and demand like we do, they are going to pick up injuries and then they are going to be out for longer. 

“When we change the team it’s not because we want to tinker. If we could play the team we knew was going to win the game, same 11 every week, then alright you want to do it but you can’t do that in the Championship. 

“It’s where you need a squad, competitiveness, a humble group that continue to work hard together and that challenge each other, that’s what we have. 

“Gabe was unfortunate because he had to go Saturday, then Wednesday against Chelsea which was a massive shift and then he had to do it again at Middlesbrough, and that’s invariably what got him injured.” 

It’s come at a time when Town are short of two midfielders in Luke Berry and Jordan Clark who have both not featured since the 3-1 win at Hull on March 19th. 

Jones said: “Clark is a couple of weeks away and Berry is day to day. He has just been ill, not Covid but he’s been ill. 

“(We’re) just building him back up so (tonight) may come too soon but we will see how he recovers from training. 

“We have decent options. Clark is a miss for us because he’s been in wonderful form but now it gives someone else a chance to step up.”

Before the international break last month the Hatters also had a depleted backline that was made up of full backs after all of the club’s available centre halves got injured. 

The two-week lay-off saw Tom Lockyer and Kal Naismith return to the stating 11 for Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Millwall, while club captain made the substitutes’ bench.

That leaves Reece Burke still to return, but Jones said: “Burke trained yesterday so he’s in contention, whether we risk him or whether we don’t depends on how we feel.

“The more we can get back, the better. The more choices you have for the run-in, we have seven games in quick succession, not many free weeks so we’re going to need that. We’re going to need the options and need the freshness to hopefully prolong our season.”

Town go to a Peterborough side rooted to the foot of the Championship table, 38 points behind fourth-placed Luton, with just one win in 13 appearances.

But even after beating Posh 3-0 on the opening day of the season, Jones knows his men won’t take the task lightly.    

“We haven’t got the type of group that’s going to bowl into town and think we can do this and do that. We won’t,” he said. 

“We need to do the basics right. If we don’t we’ll get punished. It’s a really tough game for us. They’re fighting for their lives. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re us, that’s all I can ask.”