Luton boss Rob Edwards couldn’t hide his frustrations after key centre half Teden Mengi picked up a knee injury in the week leading up to the start of the 2024-25 Championship season.
The 22-year-old had missed Town’s week-long trip to Slovenia recently, which started to fuel rumours that he would be following fellow defender Gabe Osho out of the Kenilworth Road exit door, after he departed on a free transfer to French side Nice recently when his contract with the Hatters ran out. However, Mengi was then back for the 2-2 draw against Dundee United over a week ago, and started Saturday’s clash against La Liga opponents Celta Vigo.
Having got through the opening 15 minutes of the 3-1 defeat, the England U21 international was forced off with a knee problem and replaced by Tom Holmes. Asked about the issue after the game, Edwards wasn’t too sure what the problem will be, as speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio, he said: “We’ve taken on another injury which is really, really frustrating. The big disappointment is Teden, but I don’t know. It’s his knee. It’s a positive (that he was able to walk off), so we’ll probably scan him tomorrow and we’ll see. We don’t know yet, so we’ll see how he is.”
With Mengi now a doubt to face Burnley at Kenilworth Road next Monday, Luton are down to the bare bones defensively, as Amari’i Bell, Mads Andersen and Reece Burke will all miss the contest as they recover from their respective injuries. With Dan Potts and Osho having left the club in the summer, while Japanese international Daiki Hashioka is also injured, it leaves Luton with just Holmes and youngster Joe Johnson currently available to face the Clarets.
Giving an update on the trio, Edwards added: “Amari’i is getting close, he won’t be right for next week, but he’s getting close. He’s on the grass and trained with us these last few days which is really positive. Mads is a few days ahead of Burkey, but those two are probably a few weeks behind Amari’i. We’re trying to recruit as well. Clearly we’ve still got a little bit of work to do, getting bodies back, that’s obvious, but I like a lot of what I’m seeing. We’ve still got the hangover from last season with the big injuries that we had, there’s no doubt about that. We’re still missing a few, but I’m pleased with the core of the group.”
