Luton Town hopes to have Reece Burke in the squad for Tuesday’s away game against Cardiff City following an injury-disrupted season.
The centre-back missed the opening four games of the campaign and then suffered a quad injury against Leeds United in November, which has kept him out ever since.
“We will see with Burkey; the best case will be with him on the bench. We can’t let our situation or circumstances dictate whether we rush someone back if they’re not quite ready,” boss Matt Bloomfield told the club website, external.
“Burkey’s been ill and that’s knocked him back a bit but he had a big training session on Saturday and we’ll see how he’s reacted. But as I say, we’ve got to be careful; we need to make sure he’s right.”
The Hatters will be without suspended Kal Naismith following his 19th-minute sending off in Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Burnley.
Cardiff are the team immediately above the relegation places and Luton are in urgent need of what would be only their second win on the road this season to close a five-point gap to their opponents.
“We’ve got to be ready to perform. Their home form is decent; they’re a good team and it will be a tough assignment but we’ll hit it with positivity,” Bloomfield said.
