Luton Town will be without star striker Elijah Adebayo for the remainder of the season after it was confirmed he had undergone surgery.
The 28-year-old made his long-overdue return to action and first appearance in League One with a brief cameo against Wycombe Wanderers earlier this month.
Adebayo Out Of Action
The former Swindon Town man has faced a major battle to return to fitness since his last start for Luton back in April of last year, playing for the Hatters against Leeds United. However, he only managed 49 minutes against the Whites, after succumbing to a knee injury, which was later confirmed to be damage to his anterior cruciate ligament.
After a year of recovery, Adebayo finally made his Hatters return at Adams Park, and followed that up with a lengthier substitute appearance last week against Exeter City.
But it has since been confirmed that the striker will play no further part this season for Luton Town, with the club revealing in a statement that he has had an operation following a hip injury late on against the Grecians.
Speaking to the club about his forward’s condition, Jack Wilshere stated:
“We are all devastated for Eli because we’ve seen how much he’s put in, both physically and emotionally, to get back playing this season and help us out on the pitch.
“He’s been a massive support for me in my early months here off the pitch, with the way he’s conducted himself around the training ground and getting involved on a matchday in the weeks leading up to his return, and then helping us see out the two wins last week.
“I know from personal experience what it’s like to suffer injuries so soon after coming back, and it’s just such bad luck that this has happened when Eli had so much to look forward to with the team over the coming weeks.
“We’ll all get around him and support him, as I know he will continue to do for the rest of the lads too, as he’s been such a big part of this club’s recent history and the positive environment we are trying to build.”
Tough Luck Continues
It was a heartwarming moment to see Elijah Adebayo finally make his Luton Town return after just under a year on the sidelines, his hard work to recover from an ACL injury finally paying off to play against Wycombe.
Following that up with a longer appearance against Exeter, it looked like both him personally and the Hatters as a club were picking up some much-needed momentum in their hopes of finishing in the playoffs.
With struggles facing both Devante Cole and Nakhi Wells across the whole campaign, the return of Adebayo would have been key to Jack Wilshere’s side even if would have taken the 28-year-old some time to get back up to speed.
Now, it is down to that existing pair, supported by Ali Al-Hamadi, who has similarly been hampered by injury issues, to try and find the pivotal goals to pull back the five-point deficit Town currently have on sixth-placed Stevenage.
