Luton Town manager Matt Bloomfield has revealed that midfielder Shandon Baptiste is closing in on a return to first team action having been sidelined through injury since November.
The 26-year-old has suffered his fair share of injuries since joining the Hatters last summer following his release from Brentford. He has made just 11 Championship appearances, with the last of those coming in the 4-2 defeat against Norwich City on November 30th.
Luton have won just two league games in his absence, with the Bedfordshire-based side now in real danger of suffering a second successive relegation. They currently sit 23rd in the table and are winless in eight ahead of tonight’s trip to promotion-chasing Sunderland.
Bloomfield Excited For Baptiste Return
Bloomfield is still searching for his first win since taking over from Rob Edwards last month. Ahead of the trip to the North East, the 41-year-old revealed the Grenada international is back in training ahead of a return in the coming weeks. Speaking to Luton Today, the ex-Wycombe Wanderers boss said:
“Shandon’s back in training so we hope to welcome him back very, very soon. Tomorrow night’s (tonight’s trip to Sunderland) come too soon for him but he’s back in the group.
“He’s obviously a really good player so we’re really happy that he’s back on the grass competing for a place in midfield and we think that his return is not too far away. He’s very good, can handle the ball, got a good physicality about him, played at a very good level. He’s obviously missed quite a bit of football over the years with a couple of injuries, but we believe that we can look after him and get him playing regularly again.”
With Baptiste having suffered his fair share of injury problems over the years, Bloomfield is determined to manage his return carefully:
“We’re going to have to be really cautious and careful with him. It’s about trying to get the balance right between exposing him enough that he builds up that robustness, but we don’t want him to have any more injuries. So it’s about training the best way we can, doing the training that we believe works and trying to include him as soon as we can and get him on the pitch, because the only place that you can really build up your fitness is getting out on the pitch as soon as possible.”
Writer’s View
Baptiste in an exceptionally talented player but there are still many question marks over his long term fitness. His signing last summer was undoubtedly a gamble following his release from Brentford, where he suffered an array of injury concerns. It’s a gamble that is yet to pay off but if he can stay off the treatment table, he will provide a huge boost to Luton’s survival prospects.
