Hatters new boy desperate to produce 'great things' for Luton after injury-hit spell at Brentford

​​New Town signing Shandon Baptiste is confident his injury problems are finally behind him as he looks to make up for lost time and produce some ‘great things’ for the Hatters.

The 26-year-old has suffered with significant shoulder issues in the past, dislocating it twice when starting out at Oxford United, before becoming a regular in the side for the start of the 2018-19 campaign. He had more shoulder problems though which ruled him out for two months, before his season was ended by a cruciate ligament injury in January 2019.

Back in the side the following term, Baptiste’s eye-catching form for the U’s saw Brentford splash out over £2m for his services in January 2020, as he went on to play 40 times in all competitions, the Bees missing out on promotion to the Premier League when beaten by Fulham in the play-off final. The following year was to prove a tough one for Baptiste, as he needed surgery on a knee injury that saw him out of action from September onwards, Brentford reaching the top flight in his absence.

Ankle and shoulder issues meant he only played 25 times during the Bees’ Premier League campaign in 2021-22, with 24 outings following in the 2022-23 season, while he also suffered a groin injury and his fifth shoulder dislocation last term, eventually recovering to make 12 appearances, scoring against Luton in that time.

Having completed his medical at the Brache and becoming Rob Edwards’ first new addition of the summer, Baptiste is now looking to playing a full part in Town’s bid to return to the top tier of English football, as asked what his aims are during his time at Kenilworth Road, he told the club’s official website: “Playing, that’s a big one for me, I just want to be playing.

"I’ve lost a lot of time through injuries and other things, so playing is a big one for me. Hopefully I can just help the boys and the club and we can just do something special here. It’s been tough, I’ve had a lot of injuries but I feel like I’m past that now and hopefully I can just look forward and I can do great things in this great shirt. It was good (Oxford spell), I had some injuries there as well, but I feel like as a whole it got me to where I always dreamt of playing and that was the Premier League.

"I spent three seasons with Brentford which was really good, but unfortunately I wasn’t playing enough and I want to be playing. Hopefully I can come here, play, and show people what I can do and just help this football club. I hope I’m hitting my best years so hopefully these next few years are going to be positive for me and the club.”