Luton midfielder's attempts to overcome injury problems have been hard to witness for Bloomfield

Hatters boss Matt Bloomfield conceded it has been hard to witness midfielder Shandon Baptiste try and battle back from yet another injury which has unfortunately blighted his career as a professional footballer.

The 27-year-old, who came through the ranks at Oxford United, has suffered a whole host of problems including numerous dislocated shoulders, anterior cruciate ligament damage, a torn meniscus, plus groin and ankle issues, since making his debut during the U’s Football League Trophy 6-2 win at Stevenage in August 2017.

It had limited him to just 34 league starts during his seven years with both United and Brentford, having headed to the Bees for a fee of around £2.25m in January 2020, before joining Luton on a free transfer during the summer. Although he was able to start the Hatters’ first first four games of the Championship campaign, Baptiste has been restricted to just three starts since August 30, all of those coming in November.

When Bloomfield took over, the Grenada international was out with a hamstring problem, but once fit, was then sidelined again just a few matches later, suffering a calf issue against Watford which kept him out for a further two months. Back on the bench against Bristol City on Easter Monday, he had the final knockings, while his cameo in Saturday’s clash with Coventry City was to prove absolutely pivotal, netting a last-minute winner which means Town can go to West Bromwich Albion this weekend with their second tier survival hopes in their own hands.

On Baptiste getting his chance to finally shine in front of the Hatters supporters, Bloomfield said: “It was a lovely moment for Shandon as he’s a boy who cares. I’ve really felt for him this season as he’s got himself going and then had a couple of breakdowns, but he’s gone about his work so well. He’s someone I’ve admired from afar for a number of years, he’s a top player, a really top player and for him to have that moment after such a frustrating season, football throws up these stories and I’m so pleased for him.

“He’s another fantastic option for us and another player that we think so highly of that we haven’t had as much as we would have loved to. We had a bit of a practice match in training to top up the minutes of some of the players that need it and Shandon was fantastic in the game. He’s a proper player Shandon and a lovely boy, really hard-working, diligent, cares about his football. It’s been hard to see him suffer at times this season. I wanted to get him on the pitch (against Bristol City) if I could because I know that then there’s an opportunity to maybe have more time on the pitch in the next few games.”

Bloomfield himself managed to make over 550 appearances during his own career as a player for Wycombe Wanderers, but had two long spells out of the game with his own injury problems. Although he knows that the players won’t necessarily get any sympathy from supporters when going through such troubles, he knows how hard the battle is, adding: “It was more in my early career than later, I carried a few injuries at times.

"I had a cruciate and I had another one, osteitis pubis when I was out for a year. It’s not easy to be a footballer who can’t play football, it’s not a nice place to be and I think we have to be really careful and conscientious with the boys that are injured. They don’t want to be injured and they’re trying, they’re working incredibly hard to stay fit.

“They’re humans and they take it all to heart at times and it’s not easy. I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for the lads, we’re very fortunate to live in this industry, we’re very fortunate to live this life and none of us would ever change it for the world, but Shandon is very, very conscientious. I can tell you that for a fact, he works incredibly hard, incredibly diligently and I can also tell you he’s a proper player. We’ve all seen that, we just hope he gets a little bit of luck and can keep himself fit and if he can, then for our whole football club, we have a real player on our hands.”