Boss admits striker faces spell on the sidelines
Nathan Jones says the Town will be without the services of striker Craig Mackail-Smith for Saturday’s game with Stevenage and beyond.The 32-year-old summer arrival limped off in the first half of the Hatters’ 1-0 victory at Plymouth two weeks ago with an ankle injury.
“We’re going to lose Craig for a little spell if I’m honest because of the injury he picked up at Plymouth, so he won’t be involved,” said Jones at his pre-match press call on Thursday.
“He’s seeing someone today, so it’s not going to be be days, it’s going to be weeks more than days.
“With time running out, with five weeks left of the season, it might be a tight one for Craig, but we’ll see.
“He’s a strong boy and heals quite quickly, so hopefully we can get him back.
“It’s unfortunate for him. It was an innocuous little challenge, he was actually doing the defending, so it’s a blow for him, a blow for us.
“But he’ll come back, he’s fit, he’s strong, he’s an excellent professional, so he’ll be back strong.”
The Hatters will assess the fitness of defender Dan Potts who also came off in the match at Home Park.
But Jones is happy to have Josh McQuoid back in the fold after returning to the squad for the Easter Monday defeat at Barnet.
“Because we’re missing Craig as well, it’s massive as this gives us that same type of option, that same type of pace and movement,” said the boss.
“It’s good to have Josh back. I know Josh from before, he was unfortunate enough to get injured in my first game which killed him, but also hindered my choices as well.
“So he’s looked sharp, been excellent in training and we’re excited to have him back.”
Watch the manager’s press conference here on Hatters Player.