The Pompey forward is not expected to play again for the Blues between now and the end of their Championship campaign after picking up a knee injury against Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night.
Lane fell to the Ewood Park turf unchallenged in the first half and was replaced at half-time by Isaac Hayden. He left the ground on crutches that night, with John Mousinho unable to provide any update on his condition during his Thursday press conference ahead of the game against Middlesbrough.
However, following today’s 2-1 win against Boro, it’s now understood that the Northern Ireland international will now sit out the rest of the season after suffering an injury similar to the one that ended Joe Morrell’s Pompey career last January.
The Welshman saw a bit of cartilage break off his knee and is yet to play since. Like Morrell, Lane will now undergo surgey to fix the issue and is hoped to be back for pre-season in July.
Providing the latest on the winger, John Mousinho told The News: ‘It’s mixed (news) because I feared the worst when he came off the other night. I thought it might be his ACL, but it’s not the ACL, so it’s a very, very similar injury to Joe Morrell’s this time last year.
‘Hopefully, it’s going to be about four months, that’s what I’m looking at, but just one of those really unfortunate ones with nobody around him, no-one anywhere near him, and you fear the worst when that happens.
‘It requires surgery and hopefully he’ll be back fit for the start of pre-season.’
The 23-year-old, who played an instrumental role in Pompey’s League One title success last year, has featured 22 times for the Blues in the Championship.
He scored his first goal of the season in the Blues’ 4-0 win over Swansea on New Year’s Day.
He’s the latest in a long line of injuries suffered by Pompey this season, with Jacob Farrell and Ibane Bowat also out for the remainder of the Blues’ first season back in the Championship for 12 years.
Today’s game against Michael Carrick’s Boro was also missed by the injured Conor Shaughnessy, Regan Poole, Kusini Yengi, Mark O’Mahony.
Despite their absences, the Blues recorded their fifth win in six Fratton Park matches to boost their chances of Championship survival.
Discussion about this post