Hatters chief would like to work with Kabore again as injury rules Manchester City wingback out of run-in

Luton boss Rob Edwards would like to work with Manchester City wingback Issa Kabore again in the future after revealing the defender had played his last game for the Hatters this season due to an ankle injury.

The 22-year-old, who moved to Kenilworth Road on loan from the Premier League champions at the start of the campaign, had to go off in the first half of Saturday’s 5-1 defeat to Brentford after suffering a nasty blow to his ankle. He tried and failed to soldier on against the Bees, as giving an update on his fitness today, Edwards confirmed the Burkina Faso international won’t recover in time to feature for Town again this term, as he said: “Unfortunately we’ve lost Issa Kabore.

"He went off in the first half last week, he’s got a high ankle sprain now so he’s going to miss the remainder of the season, which is really disappointing for us and for him more importantly. He’s been a real consistent performer for us, so that's a shame. He’s been great for us and been able to play in a number of different positions.

"He’s been really consistent, he’s learned and what Issa does, as well as anybody else, is he commits 100 percent every single day, every time he crosses that white line, so I’m really disappointed for him. I want to thank him for what he’s done for us this year. He’s helped, he’s played an important role, so we’ll support him now in helping him to get back on his feet. He’ll be a number of weeks, but he’ll recover well.”

Since arriving in Bedfordshire in the summer, Kabore, who is yet to make an appearance at his parent club, spending last term on loan with French Ligue 1 side Marseille, has played 24 top flight matches for Luton, with 21 starts. Despite making a handful of errors leading to the Hatters conceding goals against Aston Villa, Liverpool and Spurs, where he put through his own net, plus Exeter City in the Carabao Cup, he has been popular with the Town fans for his energetic displays up and down the right flank, none more so than when setting up Tahith Chong to score against Jurgen Klopp’s title-chasing Reds back in November.

Asked whether he would like to get the chance to work with Kabore, who penned a five year deal at the treble winners when joining from Belgian side Mechelen in July 2020, again, Edwards continued: “Yes, I’ve really enjoyed working with him and it’s not going to come down to me solely, but I think he’s got so much more potential and growth in him. He’s a fantastic athlete, great person and its been good for him.

“He was really keen to play in the Premier League and that was a big pull in being able to get him here, so thankyou to City as we’ve got to get that in place and agreed and I’m really pleased that we did that. He’s been great for us, he is a young player that’s going to go on and have a really good career. He’s a diamond of a lad who gives absolutely everything, every single day.”

With Luton using the loan market to bring in Kabore and Sambi Lokonga from Arsenal, the pair, when fit, have been important members of the battle to stay in the top flight this term, which is something Edwards believes will stand them in good stead when looking to borrow any other players next term. He said: “What it shows is we’ve been an attractive place for young players and for us to certainly get loans in.

"If you look at some of your players who have performed really well this year, whether they’re our players or whether it’s like Issa, a loan, Sambi’s done really well on loan, so I think we’ve been an attractive club for that sort of thing. The recruitment side of it is important, so this year will have certainly helped us in that respect.”

Although Kabore now won’t play any part against Wolves, Everton, West Ham and Fulham, Edwards does have some some like-for-like replacements available, with Daiki Hashioka and Fred Onyedinma both fit, adding: “There is more options there, a little bit more strength in depth, so that certainly helps us.”