Knee injury keeps Luton’s Marvelous Nakamba out of Brentford clash

Zimbabwe Warriors captain Marvelous Nakamba is expected to miss his club side, Luton Town’s trip to Brentford on Saturday due to a knee injury he picked up on international duty in Rwanda.

After having started every game for Luton this season, the 29-year-old was forced to miss last Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace.

Luton manager Rob Edwards is optimistic the injury will not keep Nakamba out for too long given his importance to the team.

“His knee was a little bit swollen, it had a little bit of discomfort in it, we’ve had the scans and checks on it, it’s not too serious,” Edwards said.

“We’ve been able to get him out on the grass at times this week, so I don’t think he’s going to be quite right for this weekend, but we’re very hopeful we’ll be able to see him back out there very soon.

“It’s a positive one that when you hear knee you start worrying that it could be worse than actually what it is, so we’re fairly positive on what it is.”

Nakamba has been solid in the middle of the park for Luton and it was probably a surprise they managed to beat Palace in his unwelcome absence.

Edwards said; “It was a very, very tight game but we managed to come out on top, great. Marv is clearly one of our most influential players, he’s been brilliant for us since arriving at the club, a real favourite of the supporters, someone who gives absolutely everything when he’s out there, really important for us.

“But to get a win without him being there on the pitch was great. Pelly’s (Mpanzu) played in the two games that we’ve won this year, so Pelly came in and did great, Clicker (Jordan Clark) towards the end of the game.

“We’ve got a number of players who can come in that we trust, who can step up when needed.” Edwards added.