Hatters boss confirms Town attacker Woodrow could be out until season breaks for the World Cup

Hatters forward Cauley Woodrow could be out until the Championship breaks for the World Cup in Qatar next month according to boss Nathan Jones.

The summer signing from Barnsley has had a difficult time of it since returning to Kenilworth Road for an undisclosed fee in the summer, restricted to just seven league outings so far.

Woodrow only started one of Luton’s opening nine second tier fixtures, that a 2-0 defeat at Bristol City, where deployed in an attacking midfield role, he was taken off at half time as part of a triple substitution.

Following some further cameos off the bench in the deeper role, he then began the 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers last month, playing in his favoured position upfront alongside Carlton Morris.

However, the ex-Fulham attacker didn't make the squad for the 2-0 win at Hull in Town's next match, with Jones admitting he had picked up a calf injury, missing the contests against Huddersfield and West Bromwich Albion.

Giving an update this afternoon, Jones wasn’t sure whether he would fit before Luton have a month off whem the campaign pauses on November 12, as he said: “He’ll be a number of weeks which will take him really close to the international one, so it’s about monitoring that.

“He did his calf in training, out of absolutely nothing really, which is very, very strange, but that’s what’s been happening to us.

"Again we we trust our processes, we’ve had to adjust certain things, we’ve adjusted our meetings to make sure we don’t keep picking up little injuries, but at the minute, or the last six months, we’ve picked up more injuries than we would have liked as normally our record is fantastic.

“So it’s about adjusting to that, we’re an aggressive side, added new players in, so we have to adapt and this is a different level to what the club has been at for certain years.

"There’s a few factors involved in that, Cauley’s just a bit unfortunate, but it gives someone else an opportunity.”

The time on the sidelines has prevented Woodrow in having the sort of impact that Jones was expecting when he persuaded him to join the Hatters in the summer as one of his major additions in the transfer window, adding: “It’s always a shame when people pick up injuries, especially when he worked so hard, been patient and then got his opportunity.

"We were looking to play him again, so it is very, very unfortunate for Cauley and for us really, because he was growing into a big player for us.”