Hatters midfielder feared his season was over after suffering ligament damage in Germany

​​Town midfielder Jordan Clark revealed he thought his first shot at being a Premier League player had been dashed after suffering a serious injury during pre-season.

The 30-year-old was part of a Luton team who were playing a double-header in Germany against VfL Bochum back in August.

Having completed almost the entire 90 minutes, Clark then tore his ankle ligaments in the closing stages of the 2-1 friendly defeat, which saw him stretchered off.

It immediately ruled him out of the opening day trip to Brighton & Hove Albion, but the former Accrington winger had serious concerns it could have been far, far worse, initially thinking his campaign was over before even starting.

He said: “I tried to play a pass and got my foot trapped in the grass and went over on it.

"I was lucky I didn't break anything or dislocate anything, just snapped one of my ligaments, which was not ideal but could have been worse.

"I've got some nice metal in me now, so hopefully I don't go off when going through the airport.

"It was a killer though, I was very emotional in the first week, especially being sat on my settee not being able to do anything.

"My girlfriend was having to run around for me as I couldn’t do anything.

"I had to keep my leg up for 22 hours of the day, so that was a bit of a nightmare.

"At first I thought it was a six month injury, so I broke down in tears as you never know when you come back you might get little niggles and stuff.

“I didn’t know if I would play a part this season, but then when they said three months, you can keep cracking on with little things.”

Having had a much better diagnosis, Clark set his sights on getting himself in the best shape possible for the top flight, continuing: “You’re stuck in the gym so it’s a bit harder, but then when you start to get out on the grass it starts to give you a bit of motivation.

“You see the lads training and you think, a couple of weeks now and I should be back in there.

"My mentality was just like, I’ve got to do even more than what I can do as this level is unforgiving.

"The last thing I wanted to be was not fit and not stronger than I was previously, so that was the target I set.

"The physios, they’re top men, I love them all to bits, and the sports sciences and strength and conditioning guys, I can’t thank them enough.”

After being on the bench for the 1-1 draw against Liverpool, Clark then made his comeback and a first ever Premier League outing last weekend when coming on during the Hatters’ 1-0 defeat at Manchester United.

Having been sidelined for so long, the ex-Accrington winger is determined to win his place back in a Hatters midfield he was such an integral part of last term, adding: “Football’s funny, you get the highs of Wembley, do a whole pre-season and then the week before the first game you get ruptured ankle ligaments.

"So it was a bit of a kick in the teeth, it brings you back down to earth a little bit.

"It just makes you more hungry and when I’ve been watching the games, I’ve been like, I can’t wait to get back, stamp my authority on the team and get back to how I was playing before I got injured.”