Luton boss fears leading scorer Adebayo could miss the rest of the season

Luton boss Rob Edwards fears that leading scorer Elijah Adebayo could be out for the rest of season after suffering a setback in his bid to return from a hamstring injury.

The 26-year-old has nine Premier League goals to his name for the Hatters this term, including seven in his last nine top flight outings, also scoring the club’s first hat-trick at this level in over 20 years when netting a treble against Brighton & Hove Albion during the 4-0 victory. However, he has missed Town’s last six matches in all competitions after pulling out of the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United before kick-off, Luton losing five and drawing one of those games in his absence.

Adebayo himself had been hoping to make a swift return, but that might not be the case now as speaking today, asked if he might struggle to feature in the Hatters’ run-in, boss Rob Edwards said: “Potentially, his hamstring is worse. We were in a position where he was feeling good and we were pushing, he was pushing as well, and he felt it again, so we’ve got to be really careful now. There’s not long left of the season now is there, so I don't want to say that yet, but he’s going to be longer, he’s not going to be back after the (international) break.”

Since his injury, Luton have still scored 10 goals in that time, Carlton Morris netting twice, but Edwards knows not having Adebayo is a huge blow to his side’s chances of staying up, adding: “At the moment we’re scoring goals, that is one silver lining to that, but we want out best players available and available for selection. Eli doesn't just help us from an attacking point of view, he helps us defend set-pieces, sets that press. You know how important he’s been for us so it’s a big player that’s missing.”