MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 11:35:35| >> :600:376123:376123:

Luton Town suffer Amari'i Bell injury blow in Manchester City defeat

Luton suffer Amari'i Bell injury blow in Man City defeat
© Reuters
Luton Town manager Rob Edwards is unsure of the seriousness of the injury sustained by Amari'i Bell during the 6-2 loss to Manchester City in the FA Cup.

Luton Town manager Rob Edwards failed to reveal the extent of Amari'i Bell's injury after he was forced off in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester City on Tuesday night.

The Hatters bowed out of the competition at the fifth-round stage following a heavy loss to Pep Guardiola's men, who were led by two eye-catching performances.

Erling Haaland managed to breach the net of Luton goalkeeper Tim Krul five times at Kenilworth Road before being replaced by Julian Alvarez on the 77th minute.

Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne also racked up the goal contributions in Bedfordshire, providing four assists for his Norwegian teammate against the Hatters.

Apart from the disappointment of exiting the FA Cup, Luton also suffered an injury problem when defender Bell was substituted in the first half.

Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal on February 27, 2024© Reuters

With the Citizens racing into a two-goal advantage early on, Bell went down following a challenge and was ultimately unable to continue playing.

Despite first-team defender Gabriel Osho sitting on the bench, the Jamaica international was replaced by 18-year-old Joe Johnson, who made just his fifth senior appearance for Luton.

Speaking after the full-time whistle on Tuesday night at Kenilworth Road, Hatters boss Edwards provided a slight insight into Bell's injury and reasoning behind the first-period substitution.

"Not too much at the moment (update on Bell's injury), he wasn't fully fit going into the game but Gabe (Osho) wasn't either," Edwards told Luton Today after the Man City defeat.

"And then when I was going to bring Gabe on, Gabe was saying he was feeling it in the warm up as well, so Gabe did not come on, so it was young JJ (Johnson), all the best mate, get on there against this lot!"

Luton Town's Issa Kabore in action with Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho on November 11, 2023© Reuters

Luton will be able to call on the services of Manchester City loanee Issa Kabore on Saturday evening against Aston Villa, though, with the youngster unable to feature on Tuesday against his parent club.

Bell joins a number of first-team defenders in the medical room at the moment, including fellow centre-backs Mads Andersen and Tom Lockyer, who will not play again this season following a cardiac arrest in December.

The Hatters are also without key players in more-advanced positions on the pitch, such as nine-goal striker Elijah Adebayo, who is not expected back until the middle of March due to a thigh strain.

Aiming to close the four-point gap to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest and safety, Edwards's side will welcome Unai Emery's men to Kenilworth Road on the weekend.

ID:537751:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5744:

Click here for more stories about Amari'i Bell

Click here for more stories about Luton Town

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Manchester City's Erling Haaland celebrates scoring their first goal on February 27, 2024
Read Next:
Erling Haaland emulates George Best feat with five-goal FA Cup haul
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1594225111431
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1510321971231
3Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
4Burnley157621861227
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom15672169725
6Watford158162322125
7Middlesbrough157352317624
8Millwall156541813523
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City155732019122
11Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
12Derby CountyDerby155461919019
13Stoke CityStoke155461819-119
14Norwich CityNorwich154652322118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds155371725-818
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry154472021-116
18Plymouth ArgylePlymouth154471526-1116
19Hull City153661620-415
20Preston North EndPreston153661523-815
21Luton TownLuton154381726-915
22Cardiff CityCardiff154381423-915
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR151771225-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!