Hatters attacker Ogbene in a better place now after his injury concerns are over

​Town attacker Chiedozie Ogbene insists he is in a better place now after putting his struggles with a number of niggling injuries behind him.

The summer signing from Rotherham had become an instant crowd favourite with Luton supporters after making his full Premier League debut in the 1-1 draw with Wolves back in September, going on to start the next nine matches, netting a first top flight goal during the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest as well.

However, niggling hamstring and ankle problems then hindered his progress, as during the 1-0 defeat at Manchester United and 3-1 loss to Brentford, he didn’t quite look his usual explosive best, having to pull out of the Republic of Ireland squad for the matches against the Netherlands and New Zealand too.

Ogbene also missed Luton’s 2-1 reverse to Manchester City in December, recovering to be used off the bench in the next three matches, although boss Rob Edwards admitted he was still having to manage his workload. Back in the starting line-up to face Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round earlier this month, the winger has gone on to start Town’s last three matches, the 1-1 draw with Burnley and 2-1 replay win over the Trotters, where he was on target with the winning strike.The 26-year-old is now looking to return to the kind of form that saw him make such an impact, saying: “I had a bit of a fascia issue. I missed the Manchester City game just to see if it was going to heal and it didn’t go away immediately, but over time the pain has started to wear off and I’m starting to be myself again. I’m able to push off and run and sprint the way I want to, so I'm in a better place than I was a couple of weeks ago.”

Edwards believes the ex-Brentford player is now becoming the attacking force that he had been again, saying: "He seems in a good place now, so he’s looking back to his most threatening best as well. It’s good to have him back, I’m not sure any player is 100 percent, but he’s pretty much close. It’s important we have players like Chieo who are able to affect it. Before his injury he was electric and causing teams a lot of problems, and I think he’s pretty much there now.”

Ogbene certainly had plenty of chances to test any lingering doubts in the recent draw at Turf Moor as deployed in the right wingback berth due to Issa Kabore’s spell at AFCON with Burkina Faso, he got through plenty of work when sprinting up and down the flank.

It’s a position he is happy to take on, continuing: “Wingback is a role that I’m learning. We are quite good in possession, so when we’re in possession I’m almost like a winger, but every now and again you have to come back and defend like I would as a winger. It’s a position that naturally suits my trade as I tend to run back, I want to help and defend and go forward.

"It’s obviously a position that the manager sees fit for my ability, but if I had the opportunity to play as a winger, I have a bit more of a free role. It’s a position that I’m learning and I’m enjoying, listen, to get an opportunity to play in the Premier League for any side you have to take that with pride and I’m just happy that the manager trusts me to play in that position.”

With Ross Barkley conducting the Hatters midfield at Burnley, the England international picked out Ogbene time and time again with inch perfect crossfield passes, allowing his team-mate to see a large amount of the ball, especially in the first half. It meant that the summer addition certainly got his steps in on the night, although he would have liked to improve his end product in the final third, adding: “It was a hard shift, but I’m just glad to be on the pitch getting the opportunities I’m getting.

"There’s players in the team that can naturally go right back and play that position and the manager went with me and I have to fulfil that trust that he has for me. Playing in that position is all about the team, you have to do what the team requires of you and I’m just so happy to get that chance. We’re trying to get five in the last line, trying to pin them back as much as possible.

"You have to either defend the inside or defend the outside and that’s what we were trying to do, get them second guessing and then hopefully with the quality we have, with Sambi (Lokonga) and Ross, they can pick out passes. That’s what we worked on, we knew they were going to be ultra aggressive on the press and Ross was going to drop in deep and my job is to stretch the game.

"He was really helping us, he was efficient and we had a lot of chances, we had a lot of joy, maybe I could be self critical of myself and I could create a bit more, take my chance that I had, but the gameplan was good, we were all working in a good rhythm. If we can be a bit more ruthless in the final third it can definitely help us, but overall, the manager, myself and the players, we are happy with a point as if you can’t win, don’t lose.”