Calf injury sidelines Hatters defender for a few weeks as Edwards ponders changes for Bolton clash

Luton defender Mads Andersen is out of tomorrow night’s FA Cup third round replay at Bolton Wanderers after picking up a calf injury which is expected to see him sidelined for a couple of weeks.

The summer addition from Barnsley had only just returned to full fitness following a hamstring problem suffered against Tottenham Hotspur in October which meant he missed seven top flight matches until named on the bench for the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, coming on in the festive period matches against Sheffield United and Newcastle United.

However, he was then absent from the squad that travelled to Burnley for the 1-1 Premier League draw on Friday night and giving an update on the Daish centre half, Edwards, who confirmed Jacob Brown was fit after injury and suspension saw him sit out Luton’s last two fixtures, said: “Mads Andersen has got a calf issue, I’m not sure how long yet, hopefully it's not too bad, but I think he’ll be a couple of weeks. It’s going to be weeks not days which is disappointing for us, because Mads would have been in contention for this one, other than that everyone’s all right.”

One plus for Edwards is that he had Reece Burke on the bench at Turf Moor for the first time since the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, with Dan Potts named in his first matchday squad this season, the pair having battled back from hamstring and ankle ligament injuries.

It was a pleasing situation for the Luton boss, who continued: “We need it, I’m desperate to have all these defenders fit at the same time. They all keep chopping and changing, it’s almost like ‘tag, you’re in for a little bit, I’ll come out and have a breather.’ I’m really frustrated for Mads, but he’s already bang on it. He’ll be back as quickly as he can, but we’ve got Potts and Burkey back as well which is great for us.”

Edwards had made relatively few changes for the 0-0 draw against Bolton at Kenilworth Road earlier this month, just four in the end, including goalkeeper Tim Krul from the Premier League XI who had lined up against Chelsea beforehand.

On whether he might make more after a tough encounter with the Clarets just a few days ago, he added: “We had the opportunity to, I don’t want to give too much away, but the same line that I said in the last game, the team I select is capable of going to win the game.

"We have to go in with the right mentality and attitude, because Bolton are a really good team that are confident and performing well, especially at their place. They’ll fancy their chances and will be well up for it, so in a way it doesn’t matter what team I pick, what matters is our focus, our attitude towards the game.”