Luton defender left 'cut up' after suffering his latest injury blow

Luton boss Rob Edwards admitted that the Danish centre half Mads Andersen has been left ‘hurt’ and ‘cut up’ after suffering the latest in a long line of injuries that have blighted his career at Kenilworth Road on Friday night.

The 26-year-old was signed by the Hatters in the summer of 2023, joining from Barnsley for an undisclosed fee after a season in which he had played 51 times for the Tykes in all competitions. However, he was restricted to just 10 first team outings for Luton last term, as he battled a mixture of calf and hamstring injuries which ruled him out for long periods.

Andersen struggled to get a full pre-season under his belt when Town returned for the assault on the Championship, although was back to play the second half of the Carabao Cup exit on penalties to QPR recently, also named on the bench for the trips to Preston and Millwall. Among the subs once more on at Plymouth Argyle, the defender was then called on with five minutes of the first half left to play, team-mate Teden Mengi having to go off with a knee complaint.

The former Brondby youngster got through until the break, but then early in the second period, he himself was left seated on the Home Park playing surface having picked up a hamstring injury of his own, and despite trying to run it off, was eventually withdrawn, Victor Moses coming on, as he cut a disconsolate figure when leaving the field having featured for just six minutes of the 3-1 defeat. Asked for a prognosis ahead of tomorrow’s match with Oxford, Edwards said: “Mads will be a no.

"He won’t be out for too long I don’t think, but it’s just a slight muscular strain. We’re hoping only a couple of weeks but it’s incredibly frustrating for him. He’s been on that cycle for quite a long time and he’s pretty cut up about it. He’s a very positive person, he’s a deep thinker and it hurts him. We spoke very briefly this morning and you can see he’s down, but again, it’s not too long thankfully so hopefully we get him back with us in a couple of weeks.”

Asked whether his latest injury blow was due to the amount of time he has spent in the treatment room, Edwards added: “That’s been his cycle. The aim is obviously not to do that, the aim is to come back and stay back, but unfortunately for Mads, for whatever reason, he’s just had a few now, so he’s not been able to sustain that period when he’s come back and stay fit for whatever reason. It’s a different injury to what he’s had before as well, it’s not a re-injury or anything like that, so really, really frustrating for him.”