Ashby could return for Luton as Town boss gives fitness update on injured quintet

Defender Harrison Ashby could possibly make his return when the Hatters go up against Bradford City at Kenilworth Road tomorrow afternoon, while midfielder Jordan Clark is also closing in on his comeback from a broken jaw, according to boss Jack Wilshere.

The 24-year-old on-loan Newcastle United player, who had just demonstrated what an important part of Town’s XI he could be this term after a starring display in the 2-0 victory over Stockport County earlier this month, a match in which home fans eulogised about his display afterwards, looked like he was set for an extended period on the sidelines after injuring his groin in the following 1-1 draw against Leyton Orient.

Having missed the 2-1 defeat to Stevenage last Thursday, a fixture that Wilshere had stated he had an outside chance of being fit for, then on whether Ashby is now in contention to face the Bantams, he said: “Ashby obviously missed the Thursday game. We gave him a little bit more time to recover after that because we didn’t have a game for eight days and we tried to get the balance right, but he has trained today. We need to make a decision on him.”

Meanwhile, there was also good news about influential midfielder Clark, who has been absent since breaking his jaw in an accidental collision during the early stages of the 2-2 draw with Notts County almost a month ago, as Wilshere continued: “Clicker’s getting closer. He’s training with a mask on, which he needs to get comfortable with. Training is one thing, but actually being involved is another thing. So we’ll see how he progresses.”

However, with Luton sitting out league action after the weekend until they travel to Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, October 10 due to the elongated international break, although will play two Vertu Trophy matches in that time against Ipswich Town U21s and Colchester United, it isn’t expected that any of the injured quartet of Benny Benagr, Shayden Morris, Jayden Luker or Shandon Baptiste would be available for that trip to the Chairboys.

Wilshere said: “Benny is still not available, Shayden, not available, Jayden Luker, not available. I saw him and Shayden on the pitch today running round together which was nice, but Jayden and Shayden will probably be a little bit longer, the same as Benny. I spoke about Benny before about how this period is really important for him.

"Yes, we want him back because he can help the team, but also when he gets back, we want to make sure he stays back, and we need to work on a lot of things with Benny. I would say he’s closer than those two (Morris and Luker), but probably be a little bit longer than after the international break. Shandon is working really hard. His is a bit of a longer process. He actually joined in one of the sessions with the group at the start, very light, but it was nice to have him around the group and really good for him to build that confidence.”

One positive for Wilshere and his players is that tomorrow’s game will be their first in over a week, having finished an exhausting schedule of six games in 20 days with a 2-1 defeat to Stevenage last Thursday. Asked about getting some long overdue time with his players at the Brache, Wilshere added: “I love this time. We had to get the balance right with the players, that they spend some time with their family, and see their kids, have some time to switch off and think about what’s coming, but also that we had some time doing two things.

"Number one, working and training and being on the pitch together, but probably more importantly was building those connections with some of the new players in the team. It’s been a really good eight or nine days where we feel like we’ve got the balance right with the main focus that everyone’s ready tomorrow.”