Luton claimed a precious 2-1 victory over Cardiff in their Championship relegation battle as the contest was overshadowed by an injury to Aaron Ramsey that threatens to rule the Wales captain out of World Cup action.

With five points separating the two clubs at kick-off, Calum Chambers put 21st-placed Cardiff ahead five minutes after the break with their first shot on target.

Jordan Clark levelled with a sensational strike seven minutes later to give Luton, two places below Cardiff, hope and Thelo Aasgard smashed home late on to secure rare away joy for the Hatters.

It was only their second win on the road this season, and their first since beating Millwall on September 14, and moves them to within two points of safety.

Ramsey – set to be named in the Wales squad on Thursday for opening World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and North Macedonia – appeared distraught after back-heeling the ball in the 49th minute and pulling up.

He instantly threw down the captain’s armband and sat on the turf with his head bowed.

The 34-year-old missed five months of the season after sustaining a hamstring injury on international duty in September.

This was Ramsey’s sixth appearance since returning to action at the start of February, but the former Arsenal and Juventus midfielder now seems set for another spell on the sidelines.

An anxious home crowd had to wait 19 minutes for Cardiff’s first goal attempt, and even then there was little to get excited about as Dimitrios Goutas prodded harmlessly wide.

Rubin Colwill broke down the right and found Yousef Salech with a square pass, but the striker’s finish lacked accuracy.

Luton improved as the half wore on and Carlton Morris made a nuisance of himself at the near post to put Cardiff goalkeeper Ethan Horvath under pressure.

The best moment of a flat first half came after 31 minutes when Luton midfielder Liam Walsh let fly with a sweetly-struck volley from 25 yards.

Horvath moved quickly to his left to push the ball away, but the Cardiff players were greeted by jeers as the half-time whistle blew.

Cardiff took the lead moments after Ramsey’s departure as Luton half-cleared a free-kick and Chambers smashed a ball into the ground and past Thomas Kaminski.

The lead was brief as Clark produced an equaliser of the highest quality, controlling the ball on his chest and lashing a volley into the roof of the net from 20 yards.

Chambers rattled the Hatters crossbar but Luton grabbed the winner 10 minutes from time.

Former Cardiff winger Josh Bowler’s shot deflected into the path of Aasgaard, and the Norwegian finished in style.