Jones labels Luton injury problems as 'catastrophic' after duo Mpanzu and Lansbury are forced off at Huddersfield

Luton boss Nathan Jones labelled his side's injury situation as ‘catastrophic’ after Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu and Henri Lansbury were both forced off during Monday night’s 2-0 reverse at Huddersfield.

Mpanzu suffered a recurrence of a knee injury on the half hour after he came off worse when going in for a tackle, while Lansbury hurt his neck early in the second period and despite trying to play on, eventually made way.

It meant Town were forced into changes once more, as they had their last match at Peterborough United, when striker Cameron Jerome picked up a tight hamstring and had to go off, as Jones said of the pair: “He’s (Mpanzu) just come back from a knee injury really and it’s the same thing.

"He landed awkwardly and it’s just a little bone on bone thing, so it’s just sore.

“He (Lansbury) tried to soldier on but he couldn’t and it meant another midfield player, so that’s the thing.

"We’ve had a catastrophic injury list, Gabe Osho, Jordan Clark, we’ve had Luke Berry out, pretty much everyone’s been out and that’s cost us.

“We’re having to do it (make changes) every game at the minute.

"We’re picking up injuries in terms of we’re having to make subs in the first half, we’re missing midfield players, we’re having to put makeshift people in there.

"It’s catastrophic at the minute in terms of what it’s doing, but we’ve got to roll with the punches.

"It’s unfortunate as we’re losing real quality midfield players and that’s the difficult thing with having to play makeshift squads and teams, but they are responding.”

One positive was the return of skipper Sonny Bradley to the starting line-up, while Robert Snodgrass had his longest run-out since joining the club back in February, as Jones continued: “We’ve needed to get everyone back, we’ve needed everyone to be ready.

"Snods hasn’t had the game time, Sonny hasn’t, but we just felt it was the right thing to do.”

Midfielder Berry was back on the bench for the clash at the John Smith’s Stadium, and on whether Luton will have any of their other injured players fit to face Nottingham Forest tomorrow, Jones added: “Yes, (Reece) Burke is back and he was unlucky not to play tonight, but you never know.

"As soon as they go into that Bermuda Triangle of our treatment room you never know what’s coming out and I don’t mean that in any disrespect, it’s just the way we are at the minute.”

“It’s a tough one as we’re losing key players, big players.

"We lost centre halves for so long, we lost midfield players, the midfield injuries have been unbelievable and people like Osho, people like Clark, people like Berry are big players for us in terms of how we play.

"So we dust ourselves down, we lick our wounds, we have a little cry up tonight and then we go and we come back in and we’ve got to play Nottingham Forest, on Sky, to try and get into the Championship play-offs, life isn’t that bad.”