Jack Wilshere says Luton Town will make late decisions on the availability of several players ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Peterborough United after a busy few days of international football.
The Hatters saw a number of players travel around the world during the international break, including Kasey Palmer and Ali Al-Hamadi.
Loan midfielder Palmer was in action for Jamaica as the Reggae Boyz narrowly missed out on qualification for the World Cup, while striker Al-Hamadi helped Iraq reach the finals for the first time in 40 years, scoring the opening goal in their 2-1 victory over Bolivia.
Both games took place in the early hours of yesterday, UK time, and Wilshere admitted the club would need to assess both players carefully once they arrive back.
“We’ll have to see with Kasey and Ali because they’ve only just finished their games and have had to travel back,” he said.
“They’ve had big moments. Ali scoring and qualifying with Iraq is huge for him and his country, and Kasey has had a really emotional couple of days as well.”
Al-Hamadi’s only two goals of an injury-hit campaign have come on international duty and Wilshere said:
“You ask a number nine, what they want to do is score goals and that gives them confidence. And we want our nines to be scoring. Ali will be full of confidence. He’s been looking forward to that game and I know that that meant a lot to him and his family. So I’m happy for him.”
Palmer started in Jamaica’s World Cup play-off final against DR Congo but had been substituted at the end of normal time, having to watch on as his countrymen succumbed to an extra-time winner by the African nation.
Wilshere said: “I spoke to him after the game, and he was frustrated. He played well. I watched the game. He didn’t play in the first game [against New Caledonia], and then he played in the second game. He kept his form going, which was good for us.
“Obviously, we wanted him to be successful so he could come back with a smile on his face, but he has been really good for us. We’re grateful that he came through it and he’s fit and we’ll have to see how he is before tomorrow, but we want him involved.”
Talking about the timing of the games potentially affecting his team selection for tomorrow, Wilshere added: “Some things are out of our control. It’s frustrating and annoying at times that we have to play the next day after they get back, but it is what it is. And we have to see how they are, but if it could bring opportunity for other players as well.
“I’m in contact with both of them. I watched their games. I spoke to them after to see how they are, see how they’re feeling. They’re both keen to be involved, as you can imagine, but we have to measure the risk.
“They’re both on long flights that arrive today. They’ll be jet-lagged. Ali hasn’t hasn’t played that much recently, but Kasey has been outstanding for us. They’re important players for us and it’s unfortunate, the timing of their games and then the timing of our game, but we can’t use that as an excuse.”
George Saville (Northern Ireland), Emilio Lawrence (Scotland Under-21s) and goalkeeper Josh Keeley (Republic of Ireland) were also away with their national teams during the break, and though they all returned to The Brache yesterday, it has meant that Wilshere has had a reduced group on the training ground in recent days.
The Luton boss said the club would assess the players physically before deciding whether they feature against Peterborough.
“We’ve had a few lads away with their countries, so we’ll see how they come back and how they feel,” he said.
Wilshere also provided an update on several injured players, with Nahki Wells and Mads Andersen both making progress as they continue their recoveries.
He said: “Nahki’s OK. He’s trained away from the group at the early part of the week and we brought him back into training over the last few days. He feels fine. He looks OK. We have to see how he is, because, of course, we want him fit for for the whole season. And we’re going into eight games in 29 days. So yeah, let’s see how he is. But he’s back in training which is good.
“Mads trained today for the first time as well. He’s been out for a little bit longer. He picked up a knock in the Plymouth game, missed the game after that, then came back for the Northampton game. And credit to him because he played through the pain barrier, but probably made it a little bit worse.
“So he’s been out a little bit longer and when when that then happens, I think his his foot is OK now, but we have to make sure that the rest of him can adapt to the intensity again. He’s probably a little bit further behind but not too far away.”
Midfielder Sverre Sandal, who signed on transfer deadline day, is also continuing his progress and could edge nearer to further involvement after making hid debut before the international break.
Wilshere said: “I think he’s looking better and better all the time. One thing that’s easy to forget with Sverre is that it’s pre-season for him. He’s coming towards the end of that now. I think he’s played two or three games with the U21s.
“He’s trained consistently and he’s definitely getting closer and closer to the team. It was important, this period for him, that he kept working and he kept going and trying to find that consistency, because we’re going to need him between now and the end of the season.”
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