Edwards will finally have to leave players out as Town quartet are available to face Preston

Luton boss Rob Edwards is finally in the position where he will have to leave players out after confirming he is closing in on a near enough fully-fit squad to select from at Preston North End this weekend.

Although the Hatters head to Deepdale without goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, who serves a one match suspension following his sending off against Portsmouth last Saturday, plus the injured quartet of Jacob Brown, Marvelous Nakamba, Daiki Hashioka and new signing Tom Krauß, they can add four players to the squad that drew 0-0 at Fratton Park.

Centre halves Mads Andersen and Reece Burke have been declared fit enough to travel after recovering from injury, while recent additions Mark McGuinness and Liam Walsh will make the trip as well. That will see Edwards forward into some real selection dilemmas, but it’s something he is ready for, saying: “They’re (McGuinness and Walsh) fit and available for selection, it’s really good.

“Burkey and Mads will travel which is great news for us as well and then if they don’t get game time tomorrow, we’ll be looking to introduce them on Tuesday (against QPR in the Carabao Cup). This will be the first week for a long, long time, months and months and months, that I’ll be leaving people out and again, that’s not a nice thing, but I’d rather be doing that then what we have been having to do since early March time.

“We are certainly looking stronger now which is really good. That doesn’t guarantee results, we’ve got to work extremely hard and make sure we earn them, but we’re certainly in a better position to go and do what we want to try and do. A lot of lads have been missing for a while and it’s been frustrating for them as well as us and the supporters and everybody. So to have people coming back now, this time, with the full season ahead for us, it’s a big, big plus for us.”

When Town go to Loftus Road on Tuesday night, they will only be without Brown, Hashioka and Krauß as Kaminski will be available, while Edwards confirmed Zimbabwean international Nakamba should be in the squad for the first time since December. He added: “We’ll try to introduce Marv on Tuesday as well. This weekend is too soon for him, but we’ll look to get him minutes on Tuesday as well. We’re starting to shape up quite nicely. I did say it (would happen), but anyway.”