Hatters boss could welcome crucial trio back for Manchester City clash

Luton boss Rob Edwards is hopeful of welcoming back the important trio of Tom Lockyer, Marvelous Nakamba and Albert Sambi Lokonga to his squad for the visit of Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday.

Lockyer missed Tuesday night’s bitterly cruel 4-3 home defeat to Arsenal after suffering a back injury in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Brentford, while Nakamba has been out since picking a knee problem when on international duty for Zimbabwe, missing the last three fixtures.

Midfielder Lokonga’s absence has been far longer, as he has been ruled out with a serious hamstring issue since the 1-1 draw with Wolves in mid-September that has severely hindered the Belgian international’s impact following a loan move from Arsenal.

However, all three could be in contention for the contest with Pep Guardiola’s Champions League winners at Kenilworth Road, as Edwards said: “We’re hoping that Locks will be back which is really, really good for us. There’s one or two that we’re hoping to be all right.

"They (Nakamba and Lokonga) trained today, so that’s a real positive for us. Sambi’s obviously been out for a long time, not had loads of minutes, so we’ve got to be sensible with how we reintegrate him back into it, but he is available.”

There was also good news surrounding the rest of Luton’s squad too, with defensive duo Reece Burke and Mads Andersen both set to be back soon, with striker Cauley Woodrow closing in on a return too.

Edwards continued: “Burkey is very, very close, Mads is progressing well, Mads is very close to full training as well.

“Cauley’s progressing well, he was out there today, didn’t do the full session, part of it, so he's moving along as well.

“Dan (Potts) had a little bit of a setback, so we’re hoping to get to the bottom of that.”

It does mean that after the weekend then going into a trip to Bournemouth and more likely the Newcastle home game on December 23, Town might actually have a fully fit squad to choose from for the first time this campaign.

Edwards added: “Touch wood we’ll be in a really, really good position in a couple of weeks time when we could have a full group.

"Last year we did great, I just think the level, the sprinting, the intensity has knocked everyone this year. The amount of injuries across the board have been really high but we’re getting there.”