Town keeper Sluga in contention for Norwich clash after shoulder injury isn't as bad as first feared

Hatters goalkeeper Simon Sluga is in contention to face Norwich City at Kenilworth Road tomorrow after his shoulder injury wasn’t as bad as first feared.

The Croatian international suffered the problem when slipping in attempting to clear captain Sonny Bradley’s backpass during the first half of Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Cardiff City.

He recovered to block Mark Harris’s fierce follow up from point blank range, but required treatment afterwards and was clearly in some discomfort for the rest of the match.

Sluga completed the 90 minutes though and could still face the Canaries, despite youngster Harry Isted being recalled from his loan spell at Wealdstone.

Boss Nathan Jones said: “There’s no dislocation, so he’s in a little bit of pain, but there’s a lot we can do to alleviate that.

“We’ve called Harry Isted back as a precaution just in case something happens, because in the training we need him, whereas Harry would be preparing for a game with Wealdstone.

“We have to recall him to take the weight off Sluga in training, so we’ll have to assess him and see how he is, then if he’s fit enough to play.

"So no dislocation, which is the good thing, it’s just pain management really.”

When asked if Sluga had been on any medication since the weekend, Jones continued: “We have to manage that, there’s no damage to the shoulder, which is a bonus.

“Now, because there’s obviously been a slight trauma from over-extending, then there’s a slight pain in there.

“That pain has had to settle down on Saturday night, Sunday and Monday.

“We’ve had a look at him today and we’ve got a decision to make on whether he’ll be ready.”

If Sluga doesn’t make it, then James Shea could be in line for only his fourth appearance of the season and first league start since New Year’s Day.

Jones added: “We’ve got good competition and we knew everyone would have to step up in these games with the crazy amount of games that are coming up, so no issues there."