Stoke loan man Tom Ince’s season over after ankle blow while with Hatters

Tom Ince’s loan spell with Luton has been cut short with boss Nathan Jones revealing that the Stoke attacker has damaged his ankle ligaments, which will rule him out for the rest of the season. 

The former Liverpool ace joined Town in January until the end of the season, having found appearances with the Potters hard to come by. 

Ince played just 310 minutes across six appearances for the Hatters, with his last coming against former side Derby just before the international break at the start of April.

Manager Jones said: “Tom Ince won’t play again, he’s done ankle ligaments which will keep him out for a little while which is really sad as Tom’s been excellent for us.

“We knew he needed a bit of time to gather pace, but the way he’s been around the place, the way he’s integrated, he’s had a massive impact.

“I can’t under-play the impetus he’s had with players here and players have seen the quality he shows, the way he conducts himself, how he’s integrated with everyone.

“He’s been a joy to have around and I think he’s really enjoyed it. It’s been a real shame as he was just starting to have an impact and gather a little bit of sharpness and pace, so that’s a shame.”

But Luton could have defender Dan Potts available for Saturday’s derby clash against Watford, with the left back having not featured since the 1-0 defeat to Swansea on March 13, where he was stretchered off with a head injury. 

“Pottsy’s a lot closer, it’s weird as he’s just come back from his protocol head injury as he couldn’t train and then he trained and he hurt his thigh, so I think it was a by-product of the protocol, if you like, as he didn’t train and then he came into an intense thing and then hurt his thigh a little it. So, it is a by-product of the head injury, but it isn’t the head injury.”