Berry in positive spirits ahead of operation

Hatters midfielder Luke Berry is remaining in positive spirits after dislocating his ankle during the visit to Colchester United last Friday according to Town boss Nathan Jones.
Hatters midfielder Luke BerryHatters midfielder Luke Berry
Hatters midfielder Luke Berry

The 25-year-old faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after catching his studs in the turf just two minutes into the 2-1 defeat at the Weston Homes Community Stadium, where he underwent extensive treatment before being stretchered off.

Berry, who signed from Cambridge United in August, is determined to come back strongly from this setback though, as on his approach to the serious injury, Jones said: “He seems at the minute very good.

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“He’s got good support around him and I think it’s sunk in now and he realises that, as a professional athlete when you get injured, you have two choices, two mindsets.

“You either wallow and really feel sorry for yourself and go backwards, or you think, ‘okay this has happened and now what do I need to do to move forward?’

“And Luke is very much of the latter in terms of 'right, okay this has happened, I’m going to work, I’m going to come back strong,' which you need to.

“It’s a mental thing as much as a physical thing to recover. If you have those positive thoughts and you have a mindset to work hard you will come back because of medical science and the way it it has evolved.

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“This is the way it is and it is a bad injury, but it’s nowhere near what it was years and years ago, so we’re looking to get him back in the medium term.

“We won’t see him again this season and through pre-season, the only godsend is that it’s so late in the season, that two and a half three months of his rehab time will be done without a competitive game.

“So it’s better he does it now then in December, or November or September because then he misses chunks of the season, that god willing won’t be the case with him.”

On what the next steps are for Berry, Jones added: “He saw the specialist this week, he’ll have an operation to amend his ankle ligaments which is the main thing.

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“Obviously he’s had a minor break too in terms of his tibia, which is the non weight bearing one, I think, my medical knowledge is not the highest, so it’s not the worst news, but it’s not great news as it’s still an injury.

“It’s going to be a medium to long term injury in terms of months that he’s going to be out.

"We will just make sure we get him the best medical advice and the best medical cover to get him back as quickly and safely as possible.

“It’s an ankle injury, that’s the thing. The ligaments are going to take time to heal, but he saw the specialist, he has an operation on Friday morning and then he starts his recovery then.”