Amari’i Bell will miss the visit of unbeaten Tottenham Hotspur in tomorrow’s Premier League’s lunchtime kick-off, with Luton boss Rob Edwards waiting to hear how long the defender will be sidelined.
The Jamaican international has been an ever-present in the Hatters side, playing every minute in the top flight this term until he pulled up with a hamstring issue midway through the first half in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to Burnley.
Now Edwards will have to find a solution to face Spurs, who are one of only two teams in the Premier League yet to lose and who have scored at least twice in every game they’ve played so far in the division.
The manger said of Bell: “He’s going to miss tomorrow, unfortunately. It’s a slight hamstring so we’re still determining the extent of it.
“He’s been away to see a specialist today, a physio, so we’ll know a little bit more today.”
Bell has barely stopped playing since last summer having played 51 times for Town last term and then going away with his country in the Gold Cup this summer, where they progressed to the semi-finals.
So, a spell on the sidelines will give the 29-year-old a chance to have a breather, which will be one positive out of the situation.
“As long as he’s not missing for too long and we get him back quickly, I hope so,” said Edwards.
“Again, we’ll know more today and see how long it’s going to be. He hasn’t really had a break, with his international football as well, and he didn’t have a huge summer.
“Our season went on longer because of the play-offs as well.
“He’s one that has been going and going and going. Amari’i can usually churn it out. He’s very resilient, but we’ll see how bad it is. Hopefully, he’s not out for very long at all.”
And the boss also confirmed that Reece Burke has come through Tuesday’s game unscathed after he was moved to the bench due to a groin problem but had to replace Bell after just 21 minutes.
But Luton will be boosted by the return of Ross Barkley, who has featured for a month since the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United and had been struggling with his hamstring.
“He can feature now, he’s been training and he’s part of the squad,” said Edwards.
