Luton boss confirms on-loan Aston Villa keeper Jed Steer's injury is 'not a good' one

Town forced into emergency loan signing for Boro clash
Jed Steer receives treatment during the Hatters' FA Cup defeat to ChelseaJed Steer receives treatment during the Hatters' FA Cup defeat to Chelsea
Jed Steer receives treatment during the Hatters' FA Cup defeat to Chelsea

Luton boss Nathan Jones has confirmed that the suspected Achilles injury suffered by on-loan Aston Villa goalkeeper Jed Steer against Chelsea on Wednesday night was 'not a good' one.

The 29-year-old collapsed to the floor after just 14 minutes when coming out to collect a long ball over the top, immediately holding the back of his heel, an injury he has suffered twice in his career so far.

He was stretchered off with Harry Isted coming on in his place and although not giving the extent of the diagnosis away, Jones said: "It’s not a good injury.

"We won’t divulge too much as it’s confidential and it’s Villa’s player, so they will come out and say, but it’s not a good injury."

The doubly frustrating thing for Jones was that Steer wasn't meant to start against the Blues, only included after James Shea suffered a tight hamstring in training.

He continued: "We’ve been so unlucky.

"James Shea does something to his hamstring in a running session after the game, so that disrupts us, because he would have played against Chelsea and then Jed wouldn't have got injured if you like.

"So there’s so many circumstances around things like that that can’t be helped, but you just have to adjust."

With both Steer and Shea out and Isted having not played enough games to qualify as a senior goalkeeper, it meant Jones had to draft in West Bromwich Albion's Alex Palmer on an emergency seven day loan deal.

He made his debut in yesterday's 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough, and will feature in Tuesday night's trip to Coventry, before heading back to the Hawthorns if Shea is fit enough to return.

Jones continued: "We’ve only got one fit keeper and that’s Harry Isted and Harry hasn’t played five games.

"So if anything happened today, we’d have had to put Kal (Naismith), or Cameron Jerome, or whoever we have to put in goal.

"So we have to sign one, an emergency until James Shea is fit.

"We’re hoping James Shea is not too long, but in the meantime we’ve had to take an emergency loan."

After a quiet opening at the Riverside, Palmer, who has played just once for the Baggies this term back in August found himself facing Paddy McNair from the penalty spot after 17 minutes, the former Manchester United player sending him the wrong way to open the scoring.

He was then beaten with three minutes to go by substitute Duncan Watmore, as Harry Cornick's goal in stoppage time was a consolation.

On his debutant's display, Jones added: "Maybe he could have done better with the second goal, at the near post, but he didn’t have too much to do.

"It’s difficult to come in, he came up and trained with us yesterday, so it’s a tough situation.

"We could have defended it (first goal) better.

"We know the strengths they have, we’ve not defended the build-up well enough.

"Defend the build up better then we don't concede that, and that’s the frustrating thing.

"But we weren’t inept first half but we were nowhere near the levels that we normally attain to."