Luton defender is a doubt for Hull trip after withdrawing from Jamaica squad

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield is keeping his fingers crossed that defender Amari’i Bell will be fit for Saturday’s trip to Hull City after the centre half pulled out of Jamaica’s squad for this evening’s Concacaf Gold Cup qualifying second leg clash against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines due to a knee injury.

Having won his 22nd cap last week when Aston Villa striker Leon Bailey rescued a 1-1 draw for Steve McClaren’s Reggae Boyz in their first leg, Bell had been due to line up once more for the game at the Sabina Park Stadium in Kingston. However, he flew home to England today and was back at the Brache this afternoon, where he will be checked out to see if he can make the trip to the MKM Stadium.

Speaking to the press, Bloomfield said: “Amari’i has been away, but he's back as he's got a little knock so he’s missing Jamaica’s game and being assessed by our medical team ahead of the weekend. The club have been fantastic and really coordinated well to get Amari’i back at the earliest opportunity to be assessed.”

Although Luton have Reece Burke available now, along with Kal Naismith and Mads Andersen, it is hoped that the former Blackburn player will be fit to give the Hatters some natural balance in the back three they have been playing for the majority of Bloomfield’s time in charge. Town go into this weekend’s match on the back of a goalless draw with Middlesbrough which them remain well and truly in the bottom three, four points adrift of safety.

Bell, who is facing the first Championship survival battle of his time with Luton, having moved to Kenilworth Road back in June 2021 and making 149 appearances since, was continuing to remain upbeat, as asked recently if the players still felt they could finish above the dotted line, he said: “Definitely, we all believe that we can, I know we can. We just need to put some results back to back to put us in a very good position. Every single game that we play now is huge and we need to be the right mindframe in each game we go into.”

The 30-year-old also expects not just his own mental fortitude to come to the fore, but that of the rest of the squad too, as he feels Town have got the characters they require for what is a massive dogfight over the next few weeks, adding: “Through hard times you’re able to look at yourself, reflect and come out on the better side, I’ve been through a few hard times and I’ve come out of them. There’s a lot of people, Jordan (Clark), Carlton (Morris), Eli (Elijah Adebayo), Macca (Mark McGuinness), Naisy (Kal Naismith), there’s a few leaders and everyone can speak up and help each other.

"The characters in the dressing room are amazing and the togetherness we’ve still got, even though the difficult situation that we’re in, is great. That’s going to play a pivotal part in the last few games, so our heads are still always held high. We don’t have time to be moping around and not in the right mindframe. It is what it is, we have to pick ourselves up and go again. We’ve got a lot of that in the dressing room, so we can take all of that into the final games.”