Pompey are back in action this weekend as they return to Fratton Park.
While we’re still in the middle of the final international break of the campaign, there is no doubt John Mousinho and his squad would’ve utilised the two-week stoppage to ready themselves for the remaining eight games of the season.
The Blues welcome ninth-placed Blackburn Rovers to PO4 on Saturday, who themselves are on a difficult run of form having failed to win under new boss Valerien Ismael.
Pompey will be looking to get back to winning ways after defeats to Plymouth and Preston and – more importantly – hope to increase the cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.
Mousinho will be without a number of key players for the visit of Rovers, with top-scorer Callum Lang still ruled out with a hamstring injury. The 26-year-old is set to miss the remainder of the campaign due to the issue, which was sustained against Oxford United last month.
Paddy Lane also joins Lang in the treatment room and will be absent for the final eight games of the season as he recovers from a knee problem picked up in the reverse fixture between the Blues and Blackburn in January. The 24-year-old sustained the issue in the first half at Ewood Park before being withdrawn at the break.
Central defenders Hayden Matthews and Ibane Bowat will be unavailable for Pompey as they continue their recoveries from ankle and knee injuries respectively. A return date has been pencilled in for pre-season, which is also when the Fratton faithful could see left-back Jacob Farrell returning having been out of action for most of his maiden season at Fratton Park due to knee issues.
The Blues will be hoping Conor Shaughnessy can ease their concerns at the heart of the backline as he closes in on a return within the next few weeks. Saturday’s game will come more than six weeks after he picked up the hamstring injury against Cardiff and the defender was initially given a timescale of 6-8 weeks before he could make his comeback. Mousinho will likely provide an update on the League One title winner later in the week ahead of this Saturday’s game.
Rob Atkinson was given a similar timeframe of 6-8 weeks before he can return from a calf issue, but is still a few weeks behind his fellow centre-back partner Shaughnessy.
Christian Saydee (groin) and Jordan Williams (hamstring) will provide the Blues with additional cover for the visit of Ismael’s men. Mousinho penciled in a return for the duo against Blackburn before the international break. The right-back has been out since January and was last seen against West Brom during the 5-1 defeat at the Hawthorns, while the striker was last seen against Luton.
Blackburn injury news
Although Pompey have concerns of their own, Blackburn have got mounting worries of their own as they make the long trip south.
Augustus Kargbo will miss the game for Rovers due to a hamstring injury which was picked up before the international break. There’s hope he could feature again this season after being given a six-week timescale in mid-March. The January signing will be absent for the journey along with Andi Weimann, who is sidelined for the remainder of the campaign with a knee problem.
Harry Leonard is another member of Ismael’s squad set to miss the game having been out since January with a leg issue as well as Scott Wharton, who continues his recovery from an ACL issue.
It remains to be seen how long centre-back Danny Batth will be absent for because of hamstring issue and was last seen against West Brom last month. Similarly, Owen Beck is sidelined with the same concern and is likely to miss the trip to Fratton Park.
There is slight hope defender Harry Pickering could make the game against the Blues. The 26-year-old has been out of action since January but was given an initial return date of mid-March, which could see him feature.
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