Luton defender faces a spell on the sidelines after revealing he fractured his back at Blackpool

Luton defender Dan Potts has given new manager Rob Edwards the first injury headache of his short reign in charge of the Hatters by revealing that he suffered a fractured back during the recent Championship trip to Blackpool.

The 28-year-old had been one of Town’s first team regulars during the opening stages of the campaign, starting the opening 15 games of the season, before that run was ended when a sickness bug forced him to sit out the 4-0 defeat to rivals Watford last month.

He returned for the home draws against Reading and Sunderland, while then kept his place for the trip to Bloomfield Road on November 5.

With just 20 minutes gone, Potts landed heavily when clearing the ball away, as although it looked fairly innocuous at the time, after receiving treatment and trying to carry on more than once, he eventually had to concede defeat, and head for the dug-out, Town going on to win the game 1-0 in his absence.

It saw him miss the matches with Stoke and Rotherham, as the former West Ham youngster has now confirmed the injury is more serious than first expected.

Writing on Instagram, Potts said: “Not the news I wanted or expected but turns out I fractured my back away at Blackpool.

“Thankfully the winter break gives me a bit more time to recover & hopefully I’ll be back out there to help the boys & new manager as soon as possible."