Manager says injury blow to Aston Villa player is 'not good'

Luton Town manager Nathan Jones has said that Jed Steer's injury is 'not a good' one.

It is feared that Steer has suffered an Achilles injury after he had to be carried off Luton's Kenilworth Road pitch early on during their FA Cup loss to Chelsea on Thursday night.

Steer came out to collect a cross from Blues midfielder Saul Niguez but his right foot appeared to give way and the goalkeeper collapsed.

Steer did his Achilles as recently as 2019 when he was deputising for Tom Heaton for a game against Wolverhampton Wanderers and was sidelined for a while.

The 29 year-old has been playing well for Luton since he joined the play-off chasers in January and Luton were unbeaten in their past three matches, winning each of them, and only conceding one goal.

On Saturday, Steer's replacement Alex Palmer conceded twice as the Hatters lost a crucial clash with fellow play-off challengers Middlesbrough.

Jones would not comment on Steer's injury beyond confirming the outlook was a bleak one for the player.

"It's not a good injury," he said.

"We wont divulge too much as it's confidential and it’s Villa 's player, so they will come out and say, but it’s not a good injury."

Steer has been a reliable back-up for Villa but has slipped behind Robin Olsen in the pecking order in B6 following his arrival from AS Roma in January.

A more-than-capable operator at Championship level, Steer's injury is a big blow for the player who is set to depart Villa Park in the summer.

His contract is up at the end of next season but Olsen will likely be signed on a permanent deal in the summer.

Steer's former Villa team-mate Micah Richards spoke on the BBC's coverage of Luton's game against Chelsea about the injury.

"It was devastating as it's always a