Hatters midfielder Rea in 'good spirits' despite suffering second serious knee injury

Luton boss Nathan Jones insists midfielder Glen Rea is still in ‘good spirits’ despite returning early from his loan spell at Wigan Athletic due to suffering a serious knee injury that requires surgery.

The 27-year-old headed to the League One promotion chasers on transfer deadline day in a bid for some regular first team football, but was restricted to just four appearances, substituted after15 minutes of the 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon earlier this month.

It was announced last week that Rea, who has played 207 times for the Hatters, since moving from Brighton in March 2016, scoring eight goals, will now miss the rest of the season, although the club did confirm it wasn't the same knee that saw him sidelined back in the 2018-19 campaign.

Speaking to the press, Jones said: “He’s been in good spirits, it’s just disappointing for him.

“We’re gutted for him.

"He went on loan to get games as he was frustrated and we took a gamble really because we probably left ourselves a little bit short in midfield, especially with the injuries we had.

“But we did it, it hasn’t worked out well and that’s sometimes what happens.

“Players get frustrated when they don’t play and they want to play games and that’s admirable.

“That’s backfired a little bit here now, but we’ll be there for Glen.

"Glen’s been through the same thing before, so mentally he knows what’s required."