The 39-year-old will take charge of the Hatters for the first time in a competitive fixture against a Boro side who were in superb form prior to the World Cup break.

Tom Lockyer and Ethan Horvath were both away in Qatar but the manager confirmed they are both in contention for the trip to the Riverside Stadium.

Speaking to the local press during his pre-match interview, Edwards said: “Both are available. We got Ethan back today (Thursday). They [USA] went a little bit further into the competition so we tried to give them a couple of days to just have a bit of a breathier and a reset before coming back in. We had Locks in on Monday so he would have had a full week of training. They have both been training, they haven’t been off, just on international duty.”

The boss also provided a positive update on Cauley Woodrow. The attacker has been out of action since September but is making good progress on the training pitch.

“It’s really good news with Cauley. He’s been out with us. He started off last week more on his own, but he’s built into some of the sessions to the point where, today, he was probably with us for three-quarters of the session. So, he’s progressing with us really well.”

There was also better news in regard to Dan Potts’ injury, after the defender confirmed he fractured his back during the 1-0 win against Blackpool last month.

“I think a fractured back sounds horrendous doesn’t it? But there’s lots of bones in our spine and there’s a slight fracture there, but it's in an area where it can heal fairly quickly as bones do.

"He’s feeling pretty good, he’s recovered quite quickly, he was out on the grass today so we’re hoping to have him back with us quite soon which is really good news.”

The game, however, will come too quickly for captain Sonny Bradley who sustained an injury in the home draw against Reading and also Fred Onyedinma.

“Sonny’s going to be a little bit longer, Edwards admitted. “It could have been a really significant injury, you look at the mechanism and how he did it, but luckily in a way, it’s not as bad as it could have been, but it’s still an injury where it was very painful and it’s a longer one, so it will probably be into the New Year with Sonny.”

Continuing, the manager said: "Fred’s probably going to be a little bit longer. We’re hoping not too long, but we looked at him in the first couple of sessions when he first came in and he hasn’t been quite right. We’re just going to make sure that we manage him correctly, but he may still be a month or six weeks away.

"I don’t want to put too much of a timeframe on it, but we’re really looking forward to having him back because he gives us something completely different. So, I’m looking forward to working with him."