Luton defender is good to go after being stretchered off but Andersen remains a doubt

Luton boss Jack Wilshere has confirmed that defender Nigel Lonwijk didn’t suffer any ill-effects after being stretchered off against Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night, although he faces a late decision on whether to include Mads Andersen in tomorrow’s trip to play-off hopefuls Wycombe Wanderers.

The on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers defender had one of his better games for the club after being moved into the middle of the back three in midweek, with Kal Naismith dropped, although did lose out aerially in the build-up for the hosts’ equaliser, Brandon Hanlan left unmarked to race clear and beat Josh Keeley to make it 1-1

However, Lonwijk was then the main reason why the Hatters did at least leave with something tangible to their name, as in the last action of the contest, and Rovers seemingly destined to score, he dived into make a brave last-ditch challenge and prevent the hosts from doing so, the impact seeing him remaining flat out on the turf after the referee’s full time whistle.

Receiving some lengthy treatment, Lonwijk was then wheeled to the changing rooms, but was okay to walk to the team bus afterward and could even keep his place this weekend, as Wilshere said: “Nigel’s all right, thank god. It was one of them that I went over and he was in a lot of pain. I think it was impact, but thankfully he’s all right. The pain’s settled down and he’s been on the grass today so that’s good.”

There was less concrete news on the availability of Andersen, who despite playing and starring in the 2-1 Vertu Trophy semi-final win over Northampton Town recently, has missed Luton’s last three league games against Port Vale, Reading and Doncaster. Wilshere continued: “Mads has got a knock. Again he’s closer, he’s been on the grass with the medical team and we’re trying everything we can as we know how important he is.

"Let’s see. I have to make that decision and we have to sit down with him again as I want him to be comfortable. I don’t want to put him in a position where he feels he might not quite be ready or he might make it worse because also while this game is really, really important for us and we understand where it sits, we want him available for the rest of the season as well, so I have to make that decision.”

Having bossed the Cobblers’ front-line as the Hatters reached Wembley, the absence of Andersen has been a huge blow, particularly in the manner that Town have conceded against both Port Vale and Doncaster, one ball forward, something that the Danish centre half revels in, flicked on for an opposition player to go through and find the net.

On his importance to the side, Wilshere continued: “Since my first game when he didn’t play in the Northampton game, as I wanted to try a left-footed centre back on the left when we played in a four and he came out of the team, apart from that, I don’t think he’s been out of the team unless its been through managing his load. He’s been outstanding and also credit to him because when we arrived, we quickly identified how important he was, for this level, in this league for a lot of reasons.

"But it was also understanding where he’d been in the last few years, where he hasn’t played that much football. We set out together with the performance team, the medical team, to put a plan in place that we keep him available, we keep him training and he’s slowly, slowly becoming more robust, becoming more reliable. Of course now I say that and he’s been out for a few games, but that was an impact injury which can sometimes happen. He’s really important to us and an important character as well.”

On how they are managing to keep a player like Andersen, who has made 34 outings for Luton this term, as opposed to just 19 during his first two seasons at Kenilworth Road, available, Wilshere drew comparisons with his own injury issues when at Arsenal, stating: “I always felt like and sometimes your biggest strength is your biggest weakness. I was the type of player that wanted to train every day, that wanted to go through things, wanted to feel like I was working hard to find my rhythm to play the best I could, when actually I could have managed certain moments and missed certain days.

"As that’s what we do with Mads. You can see, of course, me and Mads are totally different athletes, but I think it helps give me an understanding of, do we need to see Mads every day on the pitch to make sure that he can play in a game? No, because you can see his experience on the pitch and his experience of managing himself.”

With Lonwijk expected to be fit, then it could be that Luton go with the same back-line that they did in midweek, one of the few times they have been able to do in recent matches due to injuries, minutes being managed and selection choices by the manager. The disruption has meant Luton haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last nine matches, and just one in 16 fixture, as asked if the ever-changing defence has been a reason for that, Wilshere added: “Yes, maybe, if you look historically at the teams who have got promoted out of this league, the back four or back five, whatever teams decide to do, is around 80-85 percent available and that definitely helps.

"It’s not an excuse though, because I trust and we trust that the players that step in and are asked to do maybe different things and play in a slightly different position, that they can do it. I know that they certainly feel that as well as I would never ask a player to do something that he wasn’t comfortable with. As number one is you want the players to be comfortable when they step on the pitch and be confident and have clarity around what we’re asking them to do. It could be, but we won’t use that as an excuse.”