Hakeem Odoffin will be unavailable for selection for a period of time after an MRI scan in his medical flagged an unexpected non-musculoskeletal issue.

The 27-year-old has joined in with all non-contact sessions since pre-season training began and travelled to Slovenia to integrate with his new teammates.

Having given Hakeem time to reflect on the news and following further medical advice, we are now in a position to communicate this to our supporters.

The former Rotherham man told lutontown.co.uk: “I’m thankful to the club who got me in front of leading specialists straight away.

“Unfortunately, it does require surgery to correct the issue and ensure I can return to playing safely. I’ll be sidelined for a little while, but I’m fully focused on my recovery and will be working hard to get back to training with the lads as soon as possible.”

Manager Matt Bloomfield said: “This issue was part of the negotiations between the club and Hakeem’s agent, and we understood the situation.

“We were in a position to make the decision where either we support him through this, knowing that we’ve got a real good person, a real good character and a real good player – or we walk away from it.

“I highly rate him as a defender, as a leader, as a character, as a boy as an individual. His desire to join us was really strong and again, coming off the back of where we were the last two years, we felt that players with that huge desire to come and play for us was really crucial to blend in the new group.

“Hakeem is someone the recruitment department at the football club had kept a really close eye on before I was here, someone who I know extremely well from playing against him, so all things aligned and we believe it’s still the right decision.”