Doyle a doubt to face Cobblers as injuries tot up for Hatters

The 28-year-old has been restricted to just six league start this season after suffering a succession of injuries, but completed 90 minutes against Peterborough in the FA Cup on Sunday.

However, he is a doubt for the weekend as boss John Still said: “Doyley came back but has picked up a knock on his knee, he hasn’t trained this week, we’ll have to have a look tomorrow so I’m not sure.”

Meanwhile, Still confirmed it will be a similar squad at his disposal that he had during the 2-0 defeat to Posh, although defender Scott Griffiths is back, while striker Jack Marriott may be available.

He continued: “(Scott) Cuthbert still not, Gutts (Luke Guttridge) still not, (Mark) O’Brien still not, (Pelly) Ruddock, although training, still not, (Dan) Potts still not, (Jack) Marriott, maybe, he’s trained today, we’ll see how he is tomorrow.”

Striker Paul Benson is in line for a return though after completing his three-match ban, as Still admitted the club have missed the influences of the 36-year-old, along with a fully-fit Doyle and Luke Guttridge.

He said: “Of course it’s a miss. He’s a miss, Doyle’s a miss, they’re influences on how you want to play, a fully fit Luke Guttridge too.

“Not necessarily because they play well all the time, but because they’re influences, they’re characters and their knowledge, they’re misses.

“Benno thas been out for three games now, so do we expect him to come back all singing and dancing? No I don’t. He’s going to need two or three games.”

Still is hopeful of seeing Benson reunited with Craig Mackail-Smith upfront once more though and also benefiting from Danny Green’s return to form as well.

He added: “We’ve got Craig coming back, he did well, we saw him get better and better and then he got that slight hamstring injury again.

“Craig and Benno getting fit, playing together over the course of a few games and getting the partnership going over the course of a few games, perfect.

“All of a sudden, now I’ve got Danny Green sparking, and the person that can head his crosses in isn’t playing.

“All of those things are disappointing, but that’s what it is, we just go back and get on with what we do.”