Luton chief will use ACL injury experience to help Adebayo on his long road to recovery

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield will use his own personal experience of suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage when helping striker Elijah Adebayo in any way possible as the Hatters forward begins his own lengthy rehabilitation process from the same injury.

The 27-year-old was forced off early in the second half of the 1-1 draw with Leeds United on Saturday and after missing Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Stoke City, the club confirmed he will be out for the foreseeable future having gone under the surgeon’s knife. During his stint at Wycombe Wanderers, Bloomfield had the same injury in March 2008, which kept him out for just over seven months, as he was able to return in November 2008, going on to play 21 games that season, and also having another 12 years as a professional until retiring.

Asked if he can use that prior knowledge to help Adebayo on his own path to regaining full fitness, he said: “I’ve been in contact with Eli, he’s had his operation which has gone well. We’re really, really pleased that that’s the first step. It’s a long road to recovery. I’ve done the injury myself, so I’m hoping I can really connect with him on that level. I’ve been through that process and it’s a long road. We know that there’s a lot of hard work. I can empathise as I’ve been there, done it, lived the journey.

"In my previous job at Wycombe, Brandon Hanlan went through a similar process and I was able to go along the journey with him a little bit as I’d lived it. Everyone’s different, everyone finds different struggles along the way. It’s really hard as a footballer to be inside in the gym every day when your mates are outside preparing for a game. That adrenaline and emotion you get going into the games, it’s not easy because you’re paid to play and you want to play, but that’s the situation that he finds himself in and I know that Eli’s a strong character and he’ll be back.”

Asked just how he had dealt with the news that he wouldn’t be able to lace up his boots again, Bloomfield, who finished with more than 500 outings for the Chairboys over his 20 years at Adams Park, continued: “Not great early on. It’s a long road back and it’s a bit of grieving process to go through to start off with. I think he’ll have a couple of quiet days. He seems in good spirits, he’s had his operation and that’s been a success and now it’s just about ticking off the milestones until you’re back fully fit.

"Get yourself out of hospital, get home, get your knee bending, make sure that’s in good condition. Get off your crutches, all the little stages that you go along. I just found it easier when I did it, just to tick them off one by one and you always feel like you’re achieving that way. In football you always want to achieve something, so I always looked at it as what can I achieve next.

"Now you’re off the crutches, achieve the next thing, full bend in your knee, because without achieving one you can’t move on to the next. So just tick off those little stages and before you know it, you’re back out on the grass and the journey’s done. He’ll be fine, he’s a hard worker Eli and he sounds very, very strong and very, very motivated to get himself back, so I can’t wait to have him back.”

Although Bloomfield himself made sure he was back in rapid time following his injury, he doesn’t believe that is necessarily the right thing to do for Adebayo, who could be absent for close to a year to make sure he is in peak condition with less chance of the injury occurring again. Asked if he any idea when the striker could think about being out on the pitch once more, he said: “It’s probably too early to do so and it’s probably unfair to put a timescale on that exact moment just because there’s so many different stages to go along.

"If you overdo it at one stage it sets you back, so there’s no point putting pressure on an exact date. He’ll be fit when he’s ready. In my experience and watching other players go through it, I would rather give him a little bit longer to help him in his long term future and it would be irresponsible for me as a manager with any player, with any injury, to try and rush them and play when they’re not right. So he’ll be given the time he needs to get himself right because he’s still got a long career ahead of him at our football club and we’re really excited about that.

“In my understanding, to give the boys a little bit longer than what you maybe deem as absolutely necessary helps protect them against further injury. I was certainly one of them who rushed back as soon as possible and was really lucky that I never did it again, but there’s also other players that have rushed back and had a recurrence at some point as I’ve played with some and I know others who have done that.

"I rushed back as quickly as I could as that was my mindset, but I’m not sure that’s particularly the right way, so he’ll be given the time he needs. It’s going to be a little while, of course, but I’m sure there’ll be updates along the way. We just need to make sure we give him the attention and the time he needs to get back fully fit and he absolutely will. From my side, it’s being absolutely responsible to allow Eli to return at full strength, which he will, in full health, which he will, to build himself up to be the player that we all know and love."

Although Adebayo had struggled for goals this term, only managing to find the net five times and not scoring since early December, the forward had looked to somewhere near his best during the 1-1 draw against Leeds, having a huge role to play in Town’s opening goal, powering away from inside his own half to find Jordan Clark who picked out Izzy Jones to volley home.

It made the timing of the injury even more frustrating for both him and Bloomfield, who added: “Our supporters were all singing his name last Saturday and I’ve not heard that in my time here. It was incredible just to see the response to the way he was playing and it makes it feel all the more cruel that it’s right now. Everyone was enjoying watching him and the way he was playing, the way he was working, but we have to give him the time and if the evidence suggests that takes slightly longer, then so be it.

"He’ll be ready when he’s ready and I think it’s really crucial and key for us to give him the time, but there’s been a lot of evidence, medical research is going on all the time. What I do know about Eli is that he’s a really courageous young man. He’s been through a tough period on the pitch, but he’s stood up to the challenge when we needed it. He was building himself up, he was in great form, so it’s a real shame for Eli to not be able to finish the season for us, and it’s a real shame for us to not have him.

"He was really building his confidence, really building his own belief and was incredible I felt. The last few games I felt we were really starting to see the real Eli and against Leeds he was unplayable at times. I think it’s just such a shame, but the game of football can be cruel at times, life can be cruel and you have to roll with the punches. When life gets you down, you have to pick yourself up and go again.”