Luton welcome three back from injury for Stevenage as all five midweek subs are in contention

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield will be able to welcome back three players to his squad from injury for tomorrow’s League One trip to second-placed Stevenage.

The Hatters will have options available to them in defence, with Teden Mengi and Nigel Lonwijk now both fit after missing the 2-2 draw at Blackpool on Tuesday night, Lonwijk also sitting out Saturday’s 1-0 success over Doncaster Rovers due to an ankle problem. In attack, Jerry Yates has come through the concussion protocols following the whack to the head he received when Luton were beaten 3-0 by Lincoln City a fortnight ago, as Bloomfield was finally able to talk about some positive news on the injury front.

Speaking to the press this afternoon, he said: “Teden’s back available for tomorrow, Jerry Yates is back available for tomorrow, Nigel Lonwijk is back available for tomorrow. We’ve got a couple of question marks still from the other evening as it’s been a busy week, a couple of players who have maybe not been used to doing that so often. We’ll pick a team, we’re ready to go, but we’re just making sure they’re all ready before we go tomorrow.”

With Yates back it means that should Luton stay with their 4-2-3-1 system, the ex-Blackpool and Swansea striker will have to compete with Nahki Wells, Joe Gbode and Lasse Nordas for that one spot upfront, giving Bloomfield a difficult call to make over who leads the line. He continued: “We recruited those boys to play two upfront, so we’ve got good numbers up there which is going to make for some tough decisions at times.

"They’re going to have to understand about their role in the game, whether that be as a starter or a finisher or be a part of the squad, so it’s going to be a tough one. That number nine position is going to be a really tough decision if we persist with the formation of playing a single striker. I think a few of them can play off the side as well, we saw Joe go there the other night, a few of them boys have probably played off the side during their career, they’re intelligent footballers so it’s about trying to get the best from the group as we can.”

Meanwhile, the Hatters chief also faces a real dilemma over who takes the field at the Lamex Stadium as his five second half substitutes are now all in contention following their impacts from the bench when helping Town recover from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Bloomfield Road a few days ago. Both Jordan Clark and Gideon Kodua were on target, while Gbode and Nordas caused plenty of problems upfront, Jake Richards also catching the eye in his advanced midfield berth too.

Bloomfield said: “They all put their hand up to be selected didn’t they? I don’t think that’s in debate, so there's some selection headaches and some decisions that I have made and to be made that will be out there tomorrow. The boys have gone and got four points from the week from two games, but we need fresh energy because Stevenage are very organised.”

Meanwhile, discussing Richards specifically, the 18-year-old getting his longest run-out in the league following a summer move from Exeter City, Bloomfield added: “He’s done that a few times, he’s another boy who has put his hand up. He’s someone who we were really pleased to get in the summer, obviously we had lots of midfield players already signed when we took him on and probably ahead of him in the pecking order, but that didn’t mean that we weren’t trying to push him as quickly as we possibly could. We thought organically that opportunities would present themselves, as they have with injuries and he’s done really well.”