Luton boss discusses ‘conundrum’ of Zimbabwean midfielder Nakamba

By lutontoday.co.uk

Luton boss Rob Edwards has discussed at length the ‘conundrum’ that has surrounded getting midfielder Marvelous Nakamba fit enough to feature on a regular basis for the Hatters this season.

The 30-year-old saw his efforts to help Town stay in the Premier League last term ended after a serious knee injury which ruled him out from December onwards, one of a number of the Hatters squad who were absent as the club were ultimately relegated back to the Championship.

Nakamba then didn’t feature in pre-season either, as he was eventually fit enough to start the Carabao Cup exit to QPR on August 27, playing the first half at Loftus Road.

The former Club Brugge player, who once cost Aston Villa £11m back in 2019, also began the 1-0 victory at Millwall as well before being named in the team for three of the next four matches, Luton beating Sheffield Wednesday, drawing with Oxford United and losing to Sheffield United.

Since the reverse at Bramall Lane in early October though, he has made just four substitute outings totalling less than 90 minutes of football as his comeback has been stunted somewhat.

Nakamba has been featuring for his country though, completing two full games for Zimbabwe over the international break, as he captained the Warriors to the AFCON finals in Morocco with a 1-1 draw against Kenya and 2-1 defeat to Cameroon.

Asked if that meant he could now be considered for this afternoon’s contest against Hull City, plus the upcoming trips to Leeds United and Norwich City, Edwards said: “Marv’s been progressing well.

“Some of it (not playing) has been on performance and some of it has been because of the nature of his injury and trying to get him back to a point where he’s able to go again and again and again.

“It’s been challenging. It’s great that he’s gone away and had a couple of games. He didn’t get back to the early hours the other day so it’s a decision for us to make. He’s certainly in our thinking of course.

“I probably don’t want to say either way at the moment, maybe especially with him we’ll take each one as it comes, how he is and how he responds after the game, how his knee responds.”

Asked if Nakamba’s lack of action has been due to trying to get him back up to speed once more so he doesn’t suffer a reinjury that could see him sidelined yet again, plus the thought process behind putting him back in, Edwards continued: “Basically, yes, being brutally honest and it’s hard then as you make a decision, do we try and play him every game to get him there? But then we’ve got to be careful as playing him every game might mean he breaks down.

“Then you look at certain opposition and think, is he the right person for this role right now because it’s going to require a hell of a lot of running this?

“We want to try and protect him as well and not expose him to too much, so there’s been a lot of decisions. I love him for what he’s done for us, but he’s had a serious injury and the last thing I want is to put him in too soon and he breaks down, or put him in too much and he can’t quite cope.

“We’ve got to try and get that right, but it’s really encouraging now that he’s had those couple of games as well and he’s certainly in our thinking.

“Our aim has always been to try and get him right, but it’s really difficult when he’s not able to train all the time and we’ve found with three games in a week it’s difficult then to put him in in every single one, because of the risk that poses to him as well.

“It’s been really challenging that one, a bit of a conundrum. I understand everyone’s frustrations with that, there’s always questions, especially when you don’t win games, why’s he not playing?

“We always try and pick the right team to win, but there’s also a lot of other factors with Marv as well that people might need to understand, they don’t always know. But he’s getting there, he’s working hard as well to try and be as fit and strong as possible which is great.”

A fully fit Nakamba is a huge plus for the Hatters too as in the Championship, Luton have only lost three of the 23 games he has started, something that Edwards is well aware of, adding: “When Marv is at his best as he’s not quite been there yet, then he’s brilliant. We know how effective he can be, especially in this league. (He was) Sensational.

“The impact that he had when he arrived a couple of years ago in January was incredible wasn’t it and now it’s been split with that long period of time out and a big injury. But if we get him right and get him back there then of course he can help us there’s no doubt about that.”