Shaw rues precaution as he makes Luton start

HAVING missed out on Town’s first pre-season friendly against Hitchin Town as a precaution, star summer signing Jon Shaw was relishing getting back into action against Brackley last night, writes Mark Wood.

The 28-year-old acquisition from Gateshead admitted he had been left frustrated by his lack of match action this pre-season due to a calf niggle, having been left out against the Canaries as a precaution following a summer hernia operation.

Shaw, who hit 35 goals in all competitions last season, managed 45 minutes before being replaced by Adam Watkins and said: “The hernia came on after the end of the season and I got it sorted in the summer.

“So I started pre-season quite early into my rehab and that’s why I missed the first game, because it was just a precaution that we were doing quite a lot in a short space of time.

“I got over that and I felt quite strong in and around that area and then we did a couple of long days at the back end of the week and I felt really good, I felt sharp, I felt strong.

“Then the last five, 10 minutes of the session I just felt a tightness in my calf. I maybe made one run too many rather than coming straight off it when it was tight.

“As a precaution we left the first game in pre-season and now looking back on it, it was probably the fittest I’ve been for a game.”

Shaw’s subsequent calf strain meant he missed the matches against AFC Dunstable, St Albans City, Wycombe Wanderers and Ipswich Town, but he’s hoping to be involved against his former club on the opening day.

Shaw added: “Because all the games came in quick succession, and I’ve just had the week out, it seems like forever because there’s a game every few days and I’m still not involved in the team.

“Timing-wise it could have been more ideal but you don’t always get injuries when you want them.

“It set me back a little bit, and I didn’t really want to be missing a week’s training but at the same time, it wasn’t too serious where we were thinking I would be out for weeks on end.

“We’ve done it the right way. The staff have been brilliant, the physios have been brilliant and hopefully we’re moving in the right direction now to get games.

“There’s still two weeks to go, hopefully this week I’ll be back involved and can look forward to the start now.”

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