Hatters chief reiterates he won't be dipping into the free transfer market despite defensive injury crisis

Luton boss Rob Edwards has reiterated he won’t be looking at the free transfer market to bolster his squad at Kenilworth Road despite being down the bare bones going into the Premier League run-in after suffering a raft of injuries in recent weeks.

Ahead of tomorrow evening’s home clash against Aston Villa, Luton will be without eight first team players, Gabe Osho, Elijah Adebayo, Sambi Lokonga, Jacob Brown, Marvelous Nakamba, Mads Andersen, Dan Potts and Tom Lockyer all absent for a variety of reasons, some longer than others. Town only named a 24-man squad for the second half of the top flight campaign, leaving one space available which Edwards initially said was being kept open for Lockyer’s possible inclusion. However, with the centre half admitting that a potential return to playing is someway off, if ever, as he continues to recover from his cardiac arrest, asked if that might change his mind with 13 games to go, the Luton chief said: “We can’t no.”

Town have been hit particularly hard in defensive areas this term, as Amari’i Bell (ankle and hamstring) and Joe Johnson (illness) are now doubts for the weekend as well, meaning the Hatters could have 10 in total missing when Unai Emery’s top-four chasing side are in town. Summer signing Andersen has been restricted to just eight Premier League outings so far, unavailable for over half of Town’s top flight matches due to hamstring and calf problems, while Potts hasn’t played a single minute after suffering ankle ligament damage and a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, club captain Lockyer has been out of action since mid-December, while Reece Burke has had groin and hamstring issues too.

Asked just how unlucky the situation has been along the back-line, Edwards said: “We always look at it and think how can we be better and what we can do? There’s certain things that have gone against us, there’s certain reasons why. I think the intensity of the league, how we play now does expose them to a lot of high speed running and sprints, it is tough, it is challenging, there’s that. There’s Mads for instance, he was playing League One football last year and now we’re asking him to go up against arguably the best players in the world and keep up with them and push.

"The intensity, what that does to your body, whether there’s a nervous energy, all those kinds of things come into play. The weather’s not helped, it's been hard, the groundsman has been amazing but we had to train at the stadium today because the pitches have been heavy, that can play a factor. There’s lots of reasons, we’ve got a brilliant staff who are working really hard, that we get the load right, that we get people strong, fit. We try and keep them in their sweet spot if you like, not too high, not too low, but I think across the board, there’s been a lot of injuries this year. We’re all trying to work out why and how we can keep people right, but in that defensive area there’s been a few and it does make it challenging for us.”